Does Yandex plan to increase the number of women and minority representatives on the Board of Directors?
The Yandex Code of Business Ethics and Conduct stipulates that the Company's priority is the professionalism of its employees. We believe that discrimination in any work-related matters is unacceptable. Nationality, gender, race, political or religious views, sexual orientation, or anything else that is not related to professional skills and the ability to perform job duties does not matter. These requirements are important for us both in relation to the Company's employees and members of the Board of Directors.
We acknowledge that diversity is crucial for adding various perspectives to decision-making process and ensuring that different voices are heard. Consequently, we will be exploring opportunities to increase the representation of certain groups on the Board of Directors over the next years. The value of diversity receives recognition of our stakeholders, including investors and regulators in countries we operate. We are aware of the new board diversity rule adopted by SEC in August 2021 that is applied to NASDAQ-listed companies. In our pursuit of best practices, we will keep monitoring the ongoing regulatory processes, feedback of our stakeholders and global trends with regard to board diversity.