Full Text of SR0140 100th General Assembly
SR0140 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, A McKinsey and Company study entitled "Women | 3 | | Matter" showed that companies where women are
most strongly | 4 | | represented at board or top-management levels are also the | 5 | | companies that perform the best;
companies with three or more | 6 | | women in senior management functions score more highly, on | 7 | | average, on the
organizational performance profile than | 8 | | companies with no women at the top, and performance increases
| 9 | | significantly once a certain critical mass is attained -- | 10 | | specifically, when there are at least three women on
management | 11 | | committees with an average membership of 10 people; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, An Oklahoma State University study found that | 13 | | board diversity, including diversity with respect to gender and | 14 | | ethnicity, is
associated with improved financial value; the | 15 | | study also found a significant positive relationship
between | 16 | | the fraction of women or minorities on the board and firm | 17 | | value; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, A report entitled "Women Directors on Corporate | 19 | | Boards" found that gender diversity on corporate
boards | 20 | | contributes to more effective corporate governance and to | 21 | | positive governance outcomes through a
variety of board | 22 | | processes as well as through individual interactions; that | 23 | | women directors contribute to
important firm-level outcomes as |
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| 1 | | they play direct roles as leaders and mentors, as well as | 2 | | indirect roles as
symbols of opportunity for other women, and | 3 | | inspire those women to achieve and stay with their firms; and
| 4 | | that more recognition is needed for the valuable contribution | 5 | | of women directors to firm value; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Credit Suisse conducted a six-year global | 7 | | research study, commencing in 2006, of more than 2,000
| 8 | | companies worldwide that showed that women on boards improve | 9 | | business performance by key metrics,
including stock | 10 | | performance, as demonstrated by the fact that companies with a | 11 | | market capitalization of more
than $10 billion, whose boards | 12 | | have women, outperformed shares of comparable businesses with | 13 | | all-male
boards by 26%; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, The Credit Suisse report included the following | 15 | | findings: (1) there has been a greater correlation
between | 16 | | stock performance and the presence of women on a board since | 17 | | the financial crisis in 2008; (2)
companies with women on their | 18 | | boards significantly outperformed others when the recession | 19 | | occurred; (3)
companies with women on their boards tend to be | 20 | | somewhat risk-averse and carry less debt, on average; and
(4) | 21 | | net income growth for companies with women on their boards | 22 | | averaged 14% over a six-year period,
compared with 10% for | 23 | | those with no women directors; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, According to the study entitled "Women Directors | 2 | | on Corporate Boards: From Tokenism to Critical
Mass" and a | 3 | | report entitled, "Critical Mass on Corporate Boards: Why Three | 4 | | or More Women Enhance
Governance", attaining critical mass, | 5 | | going from one or two women directors to at least three women | 6 | | directors,
creates an environment where women are no longer | 7 | | seen as outsiders and are able to influence the content
and | 8 | | process of board discussions more substantially, and boards of | 9 | | directors need to have at least three
women to enable them to | 10 | | interact and exercise an influence on the working style, | 11 | | processes, and tasks of the
board, in turn positively affecting | 12 | | the level of organizational innovation within the firm; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, The State of Illinois has seen a slight uptick in | 14 | | the percentage of women on corporate boards; in 2013, 17.5% of | 15 | | the corporate boards in the State included women, and in 2014, | 16 | | that percentage rose to 17.7; therefore, be it
| 17 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL | 18 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we acknowledge that the | 19 | | body of evidence to date concludes that companies perform | 20 | | better when their boards of directors and executive leadership | 21 | | include women and that the State of Illinois has a significant | 22 | | stake in protecting the shareholders of publicly held companies | 23 | | as well as in setting policies that enable such companies to | 24 | | perform better; and be it further
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| 1 | | RESOLVED, That we encourage equitable and diverse gender | 2 | | representation on corporate boards of directors and urge that, | 3 | | within the next three years: (1) every publicly held | 4 | | corporation in Illinois with nine or more seats on its board of | 5 | | directors have a minimum of three women on its board; (2) every | 6 | | publicly held corporation in Illinois with at least five but | 7 | | fewer than nine seats on its board of directors have a minimum | 8 | | of two women on its board; and (3) every publicly held | 9 | | corporation in Illinois with fewer than five seats on its board | 10 | | of directors have a minimum of one woman on its board; and be | 11 | | it further | 12 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 13 | | presented to Judi Spaletto, Ph.D., Chicago Chapter Chair of | 14 | | WOB2020.
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