gary gensler chairman of the commodity futures trading commission cftc listens during a financial stability oversight council fsoc meeting at the us treasury in washington dc us on monday dec 9 2013 the securities and exchange commission on friday approved new nasdaq rules that will require companies that list shares on its exchanges to meet certain race and gender targets the announcement by wall streets top regulator marks the end of a monthslong debate at the sec on whether to approve novel changes at one of the globes largest market exchange operators the rules will ensure company boards meet gender and racial diversity requirements or force firms to explain in writing why they have failed to do so nasdaqs goal for most us companies is to have at least one woman director in addition to another board member who selfidentifies as a member of a racial minority or the lgbtq community these rules will allow investors to gain a better understanding of nasdaqlisted companies approach to board diversity while ensuring that those companies have the flexibility to make decisions that best serve their shareholders sec chair gary gensler said in a statement these rules reflect calls from investors for greater transparency about the people who lead public companies and a broad crosssection of commenters supported the proposed board diversity disclosure rule he added the rule changes also require firms to release diversity statistics about their boards nasdaq found in a study conducted in 2020 that more than 75 of its listed companies wouldnt have met its proposed requirements the exchange operator applauded the secs order in a press release we are pleased that the sec has approved nasdaqs proposal to enhance board diversity disclosures and encourage the creation of more diverse boards through a marketled solution nasdaq said we look forward to working with our companies to implement this new listing rule and set a new standard for corporate governance