California will be the first state to require publicly traded companies to have at least one woman on their board of directors.
Governor Jerry Brown signed the bill endorsed by the state's legislative council in August, the German News Agency reported.
In his correspondence to the Senate, Brown wrote: "I sign the Senate's law no.826 that requires public companies whose principal executive offices are located in California to include women on their boards of directors.”
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the legislation would require that each public corporate board in the state to include at least one woman by the end of 2019, and this requirement would grow further by 2021.
Brown acknowledged that that have been "numerous objections and serious legal concerns" to the bill.
"Nevertheless, recent events in Washington D.C. and beyond make it crystal clear that many are not getting the message," Brown wrote.
Brown's decision comes after a dramatic week in Washington, where Brett Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump's nominee for the Supreme Court, was brought before the Senate Judiciary Committee to ward off sexual assault allegations by Christine Blasey Ford.
The vote on his candidacy has been postponed until the FBI completes investigations in this issue.
“Given all the special privileges that corporations have enjoyed for so long, it’s high time corporate boards include the people who constitute more than half the persons in America,” Brown continued.
