Australian LGBTQ+ Board & Executive Inclusion (ALBEI)

Its a sad day that the NASDAQ Board diversity rules have been struck down - a backward step but not unexpected in the current US political climate. This affects talented executives and directors who are women, first nations, culturally diverse, disabled and members of the LGBTQ+ community. Until now Nasdaq was leading the globe on its listing requirements. Yes this ruling affects all forms of diversity including gender! With the ASX Corporate Governance Council currently reviewing the ASX Corporate Governance Principles we need to stay the course. Diversity in leadership is good for shareholders, good for customers and good for society. Australian LGBTQ+ Board & Executive Inclusion (ALBEI) will continue to advocate and support for diversity in the board room and the C-suite and will collaborate with our colleagues across the diversity space. Now is the time to be more resilient and fight the good fight. Diversity Council Australia Ltd Pride in Diversity Asian Australian Lawyers Association Race and Culture Coalition Disability Leadership Institute Chief Executive Women (CEW) Australian Council of Superannuation Investors Nareen Young Charles Prouse Andrew Staite Tharani Jegatheeswaran Catherine Fox AM Lesley Traverso Chris Keely Governance Institute of Australia Anji Kurian Dawn Emsen-Hough (GAICD) Sanjay Alapakkam David Anthony Mary Delahunty Julie Chai Katrina Rathie Sally Patten Patrick Durkin Liam Walsh Jeremy Fernandez Ricardo Gonçalves Holly Kramer Fabrice C Houdart ASFA | The Voice of Super

Two LGBTQ+ organisations made submissions to the ASX Corporate Governance Council on increasing board diversity beyond gender. Australian LGBTQ+ Board & Executive Inclusion (ALBEI) and Pride in Diversity. In addition, the team at Australian LGBTQ+ Board & Executive Inclusion (ALBEI) reached out to the CEO's and Chairs of the 20 member organisations of the ASX Corporate Governance Council and we also had a valuable meeting with the Chair Elizabeth Johnstone. Being on the ground enabled many valuable discussions with directors and professional bodies on the need for more diversity in all its forms on boards in Australia. Many senior directors were incredibly generous with their time to discuss the way forward. We are building significant momentum to have improved diversity on boards in Australia as part of the 5th Edition of the ASX Corporate Governance Principles. The superannuation industry is very much a promoter of more diverse boards and we were delighted that ASFA | The Voice of Super fully endorsed the ALBEI position. We have appreciated the time that many people have devoted to this; including the teams at Pride in Diversity, Asian Australian Lawyers Association, Race and Culture Coalition, Diversity Council Australia Ltd and many more. The regular catch ups and very constructive debates with Australian Council of Superannuation Investors, ASFA | The Voice of Super, Australian Institute of Company Directors, Governance Institute of Australia and many many others were both generous and authentic. The team at Corrs Chambers Westgarth went above and beyond producing a submission which the Hon Michael Kirby AC CMG advised me "was impressive" - amazing praise. You can read our submission here along with the other 78 submissions. We can only wait now until the final is released to the public but I can truly say we have done our best to move the dial for the LGBTQ+ community but more importantly in collaboration with (and for all) under-represented groups. https://lnkd.in/gZDHdTuF Tharani Jegatheeswaran Catherine Fox AM Michele Adair Fabrice C Houdart Jane Griffith Mary Delahunty David Brine MAICD 🌈 Lesley Traverso Dawn Emsen-Hough (GAICD) Todd Sears Out Leadership Sam Turner Sam Martin-Williams FAICD FGIA Paul Zahra Dr Juliet Bourke GAICD Nareen Young Sally Patten Ricardo Gonçalves Kate Wickett Kate Callaghan Katherine Wolfgramme FRSA David Lane Anna Brown OAM Andrew Staite Sanjay Alapakkam Toni Brendish, FAICD

🌟 The Association of LGBTQ+ Corporate Directors's flagship annual report is out🌟 I’m thrilled to unveil our LGBTQ+ Board Monitor 2024 report, launching at the upcoming Corporate Directors' Summit on Thursday, September 19, at JPMorganChase's NYC headquarters! 🏛️📊 📥 Download the report below: The report shines a light on critical insights, including: - 🌈 Only 0.9% of Fortune 500 board seats are held by LGBTQ+ individuals. - 📈 1.3% of Nasdaq board seats are held by LGBTQ+ professionals. - 🚀 Companies with #LGBTQ+ directors are outperforming the market! - ⚖️ The ongoing impact of legal challenges on diversity efforts, including the Nasdaq Rule. Read the full report here: https://lnkd.in/e2d4t4C9 This is a pivotal moment for corporate governance as we continue to break the "lavender ceiling" and champion diversity in boardrooms across the globe (the report includes contributions from our sister organizations LGBTQ Corporate Directors Canada and Australian LGBTQ+ Board & Executive Inclusion (ALBEI)) and the outlook for representation on private company boards . 🌍✨ 🏳️🌈 Our journey continues as we push for greater representation on public and private boards, and we couldn’t do it without your support. Let’s drive change together! 💼💪 #BoardDiversity #LGBTQDirectors Mark Bonham, Wei Shi, Caroline Vagneron, Rob Smith, Ozzie (Oswaldo) Gromada Meza, Gerry Rodriguez (he/him), Richard Socarides, Dan Clifford, Belen Gomez, Amar N., John Barker, JD, CCEP, CHPC, CHRC, CHC, Mark Baxter, BEc, FIAA, FGIA, David Brine MAICD 🌈, Jane Griffith, Marcel Bucsescu, Rochelle Campbell https://lnkd.in/epUeAcfi