The state of California continues to lead the way in statist policies.  It has become the first state that will require women to be placed on corporate boards.

Publicly traded companies headquartered in California will be required to have at least one female director.  They will eventually be required to have two female directors if there are five directors on a board, and three females if there are six or more members.

This is wrong on so many levels, but let’s start with a basic libertarian premise.  This legislation is wrong because it violates property rights.  The shareholders of the company supposedly own the company, yet they are being told how to run their company.  Therefore, the state of California is acting as part owner. It is not fully socialist, as the government is not taking over ownership of companies.  It is economically fascist, as the state dictates how each company will be run.

It is also against libertarian principles because it violates freedom of association. Companies are already prevented by law from discriminatory hiring practices.  Now, to go along with not being allowed to discriminate, they are also being required to discriminate – in this case, against men.

One of the state senators who sponsored the bill, Hannah-Beth Jackson, stated, “We are not going to ask any more.  We are tired of being nice.  We’re tired of being polite.”

Well, at least she is being honest.  They are not asking any more.  Instead, they are using the threat of violence.  Instead of asking companies to hire more women, they are pointing a gun telling them to do so.  They don’t explicitly point the gun unless it is absolutely necessary.  But you can be certain that if any companies disobey the law and they don’t pay the necessary fines, then the guns will eventually come out in full force.  That is the nature of socialism and the caring political left.  If persuasion doesn’t work, then bring out the government guns.

Aside from the abhorrent immorality of the law, there are certain to be unintended consequences. While this law by itself is not likely to cause a major company to pick up and leave the state, it is another bureaucratic straw on the camel’s back.  Eventually the camel collapses.  Or eventually Atlas will shrug.

What is a company supposed to do if there are no qualified women who want the job?  Are they supposed to beg somebody to take the job who isn’t qualified?

Men and Women Are Different

Other than the obvious differences, it is hard for the politically correct crowd to acknowledge that men and women are different.  In fact, they are trying their best to demonize anyone who does acknowledge that there are significant differences.

Of course, every individual is different.  But anyone who says there is no difference between men and women is just not being honest.  There are some women who like math and engineering and who are good at those things.  But in general, there are more men drawn to these fields.  There are also more men drawn to playing chess.  This isn’t sexist to recognize these things. It is being a realist.

At the same time, many women have absolutely no desire to be on the board of directors of a major company.  There are some men who would never want this either.  But in terms of percentages, there are more women who probably don’t want this. Many want to have children. Some mothers want to stay home with their children.  Some mothers want to have a flexible job where they can pick up their children from school.  They don’t want to get home at 6:00 PM or later to only see their children for a short time before bed.  Women tend to be more nurturing.  It isn’t sexist to say so.  It is a biological fact.

The state of California is trying to force this onto people who may not want it forced.  Is the “liberal” left really that determined to make sure mothers go off to work in a full-time job in order for the state to raise their children?  It would appear that way.

There will be many other unintended consequences from this legislation.  If unqualified women are forced into these positions, will they get paid the same as the men?  And if not, will that just exacerbate the so-called wage gender gap that the left continually complains against?

What happens when there is a female who has transitioned into a man?  Will that person count as a man or a woman?  If you had one spot left to fill, and the spot had to be filled by a woman, would this be discrimination against a transgender person?

And what if a man puts on a wig and identifies as a woman?  Would he/ she be eligible to fill the spot for a woman, or would there be forced discrimination against this transgender as well?

We can already see the politically correct left getting trapped in its own web.

This is just more big government trying to mask itself as being modern and caring.  In reality, it is more threats of violence being employed in society in an attempt to solve a social problem – regardless of whether or not it is a real problem.

Initiating violence doesn’t solve anything.  It ends up causing more violence, regardless of the stated ends it is supposed to achieve.  It divides our society, and it also makes us poorer than we otherwise would have been.