But these are board positions. They are not chosen based on measurable skills, but rather almost always on some combination of connections and a specific mindse

But these are board positions. They are not chosen based on measurable skills, but rather almost always on some combination of connections and a specific mindset. This has often been called the "old boys club", and the persistent pattern of boards being overwhelmingly white and male is great evidence that there has a (predominately unconscious) bias in the selections. Since the makeup of these boards affects the decisions made by these companies, and those decisions have a large impact on society, society (California) has decided that they have to clean up their act and make those decision makers at least vaguely reflect the makeup of that society.