California’s Push for Boardroom Quotas Is an Insult to Women

California may think it’s progressive, but its latest push for social engineering is downright insulting to women—not to mention unnecessary.

Both the California Senate and Assembly have passed SB 826, a bill that would require every company based in California to have at least one woman on their board by the end of 2019. By the end of 2021, the board must be comprised of at least 40 women, depending on the size.

The bill now sits on Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk, awaiting his signature.

A CNN reporter claimed this bill is “key for women’s advancement for corporate America.”

I beg to differ.

This bill sends a discouraging message to women: “You’re not good enough to make it onto a company board on your own. You need the government’s help to get there.”

I cannot imagine a woman being proud of receiving a promotion solely based on her gender. What if a man happens to be more qualified for the job? In that case, giving her the job would not only be wrong to the man but insulting to the woman.

You would imagine feminists would agree with me—or at least logically, they should. They recognize that women have the skill and the talent to rise to the top, just as men do. We don’t need a leg up from the government. That only works against the idea that we can compete on our own merit.

Men don’t get special laws to help them reach the top. Why do they feel women need them?

>>> Norway’s Boardroom Gender Quota Didn’t Work. California May Try It Anyway.

Some would counter that women are equally qualified, but the “patriarchy” is holding them back. Then how do you explain Carly Fiorina becoming CEO of Hewlett-Packard? Mary Barra becoming CEO of General Motors? Or Indra Nooyi CEO of PepsiCo?

It’s true that women do not dominate as CEOs in Fortune 500 companies. But is that really all due to discrimination? Could it not also be that women’s choices play a role—that fewer women overall choose to take on those positions?

Regardless of the reason, a law requiring companies to promote women based solely on their gender is plainly sexist. It is demeaning to women. It tells them that they don’t have what it takes to rise in the corporate world without government help. That’s false.

Nevertheless, feminists see this bill as a victory. That’s because modern feminism has become a zero-sum movement: As long as more women get into top jobs, that’s all that matters. Mainstream feminists have given up on fairness in specific cases where people of different merit are competing. They just want statistical outcomes.

Women don’t need the government to get them promotions. We can work our way to the top and earn our jobs through hard work and determination. After all, that’s what the American dream offers everyone.