Judge: California’s women on boards law is unconstitutional

By BRIAN MELLEY
Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Los Angeles judge has ruled that California’s landmark law requiring women on corporate boards is unconstitutional. The conservative legal group Judicial Watch sued over the law, saying it was illegal to use taxpayer funds to enforce a statute that violates the California Constitution by mandating a gender-based quota. The state attorney’s general office countered that the law didn’t create a quota because boards could add seats for female directors without stripping men of their positions. The state said the law was necessary to reverse a culture of discrimination. Judge Maureen Duffy-Lewis issued her ruling Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court.