Global investment adviser MFS's newly-updated Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures indicate it will vote against Nom/Gov Committee chairs of boards with fewer than 10% female directors:
MFS also believes that a well-balanced board with diverse perspectives is a foundation for sound corporate governance. MFS will generally vote against the chair of the nominating & governance committee at any U.S. company whose board is comprised of less than 10% female directors. MFS may consider, among other factors, whether the company is transitioning towards increased board gender diversity in determining MFS' final voting decision.
Also noteworthy: The new overboarding policy provides that MFS will vote against non-CEO director nominees who serve on more than four, and CEO-director nominees who serve on more than two, public company boards in total - subject to specifically enumerated exceptions, e.g., service on an affiliated company board. And according to the updated say-on-pay provision, MFS may vote against certain or all director nominees if an advisory pay vote is not on the agenda (it supports an annual frequency), or the company hasn't implemented the advisory vote frequency supported by a plurality/majority of shareholders.
Access institutional investor voting policies here. This post first appeared in last week's Society Alert!