[lawnchair_larry]

This is one hell of an overreach and will absolutely not improve the problem that it tries to solve.

I am against identity politics on principle, but a much more amenable solution would have been something like offering tax incentives for companies who do.

But aside from being way too heavy handed for a state, are they planning to do this for every “protected” class? Why only women?

[j0nathanB]

> Why only women?

Women are the largest "protected" class and the most visible, so a good start on getting "protected" classes on more equal footing.

[ankushnarula]

Paradoxical how this so call "largest protected class" makes up the majority of the population, majority of college graduates, majority of purchasing decisions, etc - and yet it needs "protection" and laws to force equality of outcomes.

[lawnchair_larry]

If it's a start towards that, it's anything but good. Do you realize how many protected classes there are? And I'm sure that I could find a larger one than women.

[SpecialistEMT]

Which one?

[barrow-rider]

Outside of Christianity, and obesity -- which isn't a protected class IIRC -- I can't think of any that make up more than 51% of the population.

The US Black population is around 13%; Hispanic population is closer to 18-19%. Asian and Pacific Islander is around 5%. LBGT population is estimated at around 5-6%; transgender estimated at around 0.3%. Muslims are <2%, and Jews roughly the same. Old people, defined as those over 65, are around 17% and rising to around 24% because of the baby boom. Kids, defined as 0-14 years, are about 18-19%, and are unlikely to be in the company boardroom. About 19% of the population had some sort of disability, with the majority of those being older (50+).

In 2017, 80.4 million workers age 16 and older in the United States were paid at hourly rates, representing 58.3 percent of all wage and salary workers. Minimum wage isn't a protected class though.

[lawnchair_larry]

"Old people" is actually defined as over 40 as far as protected classes for age discrimination. There are probably more old people than women. Familial status is another.