The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Friday approved rule changes proposed by Nasdaq last year that will put in place a new board diversity “comply or explain” mandate and further require companies listed on Nasdaq’s U.S. exchange to make public disclosures regarding the composition of their boards.

Jaclyn Jaeger is a freelance contributor to Compliance Week after working for the company for 15 years. She writes on a wide variety of topics, including ethics and compliance, risk management, legal,...