Nancy Pelosi Coronavirus Relief Bill Demands Racial, Gender Diversity from Corporate Recipients

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi pointedly rejected a coronavirus rescue package on Sunday, vowing to release a bill of her own.

A 1,400 page early draft of the bill already made the rounds in Washington, DC, on Monday and includes a provision that demands every corporation receiving coronavirus rescue funds report data on racial and gender diversity.

The text of the bill reads:

COVID–19 Aid Oversight Panel, in conjunction with the SIGTARP, shall collect diversity data from any corporation that receives Federal aid related to COVID–19, and issue a report that will be made publicly available no later than one year after the disbursement of funds.

The data demands supply chains include minority and women-owned suppliers, pay equity for women and minorities, as well as diversity on their corporate boards and among employees.

(1) EMPLOYEE DEMOGRAPHICS.—The gender, race, and ethnic identity (and to the extent possible, results disaggregated by ethnic group) of the corporation’s employees, as otherwise known or provided voluntarily for the total number of employees (full- and part-time) and the career level of employees (executive and manager versus employees in other roles).

(2) SUPPLIER DIVERSITY.—The number and dollar value invested with minority- and women-owned suppliers (and to the extent possible, results disaggregated by ethnic group), including professional services (legal and consulting) and asset managers, and deposits and other accounts with minority depository institutions, as compared to all vendor investments.

(3) PAY EQUITY.—A comparison of pay amongst racial and ethnic minorities (and to the extent possible, results disaggregated by ethnic group) as compared to their white counterparts and comparison of pay between men and women for similar roles and assignments.

(4) CORPORATE BOARD DIVERSITY.—Corporate board demographic data, including total number of board members, gender, race and ethnic identity of board members (and to the extent possible, results disaggregated by ethnic group), as otherwise known or provided voluntarily, board position titles, as well as any leadership and subcommittee assignments.

The bill also requires federal agencies to report to Congress their actions to increase the use of minority-owned banks and credit unions.

(2) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 2 years after the establishment of the program described in subsection (a), and annually thereafter, the head of each Federal department or agency shall submit to Congress a report on the actions taken to increase the use of minority banks and minority credit unions to serve the financial needs of each 13 such department or agency.