Californian court declares law requiring women on boards unconstitutional

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A Los Angeles court has ruled that a Californian law that requires companies to have up to three women on their boards is unconstitutional.

The right to equal treatment under the state and federal law was violated by the law.

Weber said she will challenge the ruling.

The companies were fined up to $300,000 for failing to meet the required representation.

It called on all corporations in California to have at least one female board member by the end of 2019.

By January 2022, there would be two women on boards with five people or fewer and three women with boards of six members or more.

The challenge was made by the conservative legal group Judicial Watch, who had claimed that it was illegal to use taxpayer funds to enforce a law that violated the right to equal protection under Californian and federal law.

The group welcomed the ruling and its president, Tom Fitton, criticized what he called the radical Left's unprecedented attacks on anti-discrimination law.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, Ms Weber said that the court ignored critical and substantial evidence of discrimination against women and that she had directed state lawyers to file an appeal.

The court allowed the State to return to policies that allow systemic gender discrimination to create an impenetrable wall which excludes women from the most influential boards.

The ruling was disappointing and served as a reminder that sometimes our legalities don't match our realities, according to State Senator Toni Atkins, a Democrat who helped guide the bill through the state assembly.

More women on corporate boards means better decisions and businesses that do better than the competition.

The law has never been used to prosecute companies, but it has been credited with improving the representation of women on boards.

Half of the corporations required to file failed to do so, according to critics.

The law was built on shaky foundations and a letter from former Secretary of State Alex Padilla warned then-Governor Jerry Brown weeks before he signed it into force that it was practically unenforceable.

Judicial Watch successfully challenged another law requiring boards to include individuals who identify as members of an under-represented community.

The bill sought to increase the representation of certain groups.