Do trans women count as women for the purposes of this new California law?
<p><a href="https://money.cnn.com/2018/09/30/news/california-requires-women-board-of-directors/index.html" rel="noreferrer">This</a> article on CNN states the following:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>That's according to a new law, enacted Sunday, which requires publicly traded firms in the state to place at least one woman on their board of directors by the end of 2019 — or face a penalty.</p>
<p>It also requires companies with five directors to add two women by the end of 2021, and companies with six or more directors to add at least three more women by the end of the same year.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Say a company with five directors were to add two trans women to their board, would this company face a penalty?</p>
<p>If so, must the individual have completed their transition or can a pre-transition trans-women be considered a woman on the board of directors?</p>
<p>If a pre-transition trans-women qualifies then it appears to me that this law could be circumvented by having men claim to be pre-transition trans-women. The natural issue with this being that men could easily be doing this in bad faith which would require the state government to determine if this is being done in bad faith or not.</p>
<p>In the article it is stated that similar laws exist in Europe, has this issue arisen there?</p>
<p>Thanks</p>

<p>The <a href="https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180SB826" rel="noreferrer">new California law</a> 301.3(f)(1) says that</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>“Female” means an individual who self-identifies her gender as a
  woman, without regard to the individual’s designated sex at birth.</p>
</blockquote>

california