What's happening
This bill requires companies seeking New York state contracts over $100,000 to disclose the percentage and number of female executives and board members, as well as their goals and efforts to increase women's representation.
Why it matters
Increases transparency about gender diversity. By requiring companies to disclose both the current and aspirational representation of women in executive and board roles, the bill gives the public and policymakers more insight into who is leading firms that receive taxpayer funds.
Creates accountability and public pressure. Companies must now not only state their numbers but also outline their intended efforts and goals to improve women’s representation, potentially motivating more serious diversity initiatives.
Data-driven policymaking. The law mandates that state agencies collect, compile, and share gender diversity data with the Department of Economic Development, which must then analyze the information and present annual reports to state leaders—helping inform future legislation or contract decisions.
Potential influence on contract awards. Although the bill does not expressly mandate quotas or minimums, the requirement for agencies to report how diversity information is factored into scoring could affect how contracts are awarded, possibly favoring companies making genuine efforts toward gender equity.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Disclose Female Leadership Data
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
1 Co-sponsor
History
- Referred to governmental operations
- Referred to governmental operations
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
844
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY (Prefiled)
January 8, 2025
Introduced by M. of A. ROSENTHAL -- read once and referred to the Committee on Governmental Operations
AN ACT to amend the state finance law, in relation to requiring that bidders and all others seeking state contracts disclose their percentage and number of female executives and board members
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Legislative intent. The legislature finds that there is a growing body of evidence that companies perform better when their boards and executive leadership are strongly represented by women and that the state has a vested interest in ensuring that companies receiving public funds and contracts perform efficiently to maintain a high rate of success. Further, the legislature finds that it is in the state's vested interest to encourage equitable and diverse gender representation on corporate boards of companies receiving public funds and contracts. It is the intent of this act to require companies who wish to do business with the state to disclose the current percentage and number of women executive officers employed by the company, percentage and number of women on its corporate board, and the company's goals for the increased participation of women in executive positions and on corporate boards.
§ 2. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 149 to read as follows:
§ 149. Disclosure of women in executive positions and serving as board members by state contractors. 1. All contract solicitations including but not limited to, invitations for bids, requests for proposals, requests for applications and requests for qualifications for contracts, in excess of one hundred thousand dollars shall require that all offerors seeking state contracts shall disclose:
(a) the current percentage and number of women serving in executive positions and as board members for the offeror;
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03230-01-5
(b) the offeror's aspirational goals for the inclusion of women serving in executive positions and as board members; and
(c) the intended efforts by the offeror to achieve such aspirational goals.
2. Prior to May thirty-first of each year, each state agency in receipt of the information required pursuant to subdivision one of this section shall be responsible for providing the department of economic development with the compiled diversity data for every offeror seeking a state contract, whether or not such offeror was awarded the contract, for the prior calendar year. Such data shall include, but need not be limited to, data relating to general trends in the number of women serving in executive positions, serving on boards, statistics relating to winning and losing bidders, the method which agencies reflect diversity information in their scoring, and the manner in which such scoring is performed.
3. The department of economic development shall aggregate and analyze the data received by agencies pursuant to subdivisions one and two of this section and present an annual report to the governor, the temporary president of the senate, the speaker of the assembly, the minority leaders of the senate and the assembly, and the chairpersons of the senate finance and assembly ways and means committees.
§ 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.