Topic: Board Diversity

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon announced at Davos that the bank will no longer take companies public unless they have at least one "diverse" board member. This mandate requires a director who is not a white, straight male, with the threshold rising to two members next year. The hosts characterize this as a "token" requirement that will benefit a small group of professional minority board members.

Fox Business News reported on the growing trend of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) investing, which pressures companies to diversify their boards. Critics argue that replacing experienced board members with younger, diverse individuals for the sake of "facelifts" may prioritize virtue signaling over profitability. Investors, particularly millennials, are increasingly looking for this type of representation in their portfolios.

Governor Jerry Brown signed a law requiring publicly held corporations headquartered in California to include women on their boards of directors. The hosts question the constitutionality of the law and suggest it may drive companies to incorporate in states like Delaware. They also mock the NPR coverage that links the law to the national conversation surrounding the Kavanaugh hearings.

Al Sharpton is accused of using his radio platform to pressure Apple Inc. over a lack of African American representation on its board of directors and in its procurement processes. The segment characterizes Sharpton's tactics as an "extortion racket" similar to those used by Jesse Jackson. A prediction is made that Apple will eventually appoint an executive like John Thompson to the board to satisfy these demands.

Critics point out that President Obama's second-term cabinet picks are predominantly white men, despite his campaign rhetoric regarding women's rights. The hosts discuss Lynn Forster de Rothschild's views on women in capitalism and contrast the U.S. situation with Norway, where laws mandate that 50% of corporate board members must be women.