Another country planning quotas against men only boards
Dutch companies could be the next in line to introduce a quota for women on supervisory boards. The Dutch Senate is scheduled to on September 28 vote on a controversial law. If approved the country will be introducing a one-third diversity quota for supervisory boards of Dutch Amsterdam-listed companies.
Large listed and non-listed companies will required to set gender balance targets for boards and senior management levels.
Some political parties have been negative to the proposed legislation. If it is approved, government has suggested the new rules to be valid from January 1, 2022.
German government has recently agreed to a mandatory quota for women on the boards of listed companies. Enthusiasts described it as a landmark moment. Listed companies with management boards of more than three executives must appoint at least one woman to the C-suite, according to a presentation by Germany’s ministry for family affairs, senior citizens, women and youth.
Germany adopted mandatory quotas for supervisory boards in 2015, with the effect that women now account for 36% of the non-executive board roles at large companies, according to the European Institute for Gender Equality.
“We are putting an end to women-free boardsrooms at large companies,” Franziska Giffey, the minister for women and families, said in a statement.
However, the Federation of German Industries (BDI), which represents 40 trade groups, saying it supports efforts to encourage the appointment of women to leadership positions, but that a fixed board quota is “a major intervention in entrepreneurial freedom.”
The European Union’s office for statistics Eurostat says that last year women accounted for a little over one quarter of board members of publicly listed companies in the EU (28%), and for less than one fifth of senior executives (18%).
The US Securities and Exchange Commission this summer approved a proposal that Nasdaq stock exchange listed companies will have to provide binding gender diversity targets. Nasdaq listed companies must have diverse boards, or explain why they don’t.
The new rule is that they must have two diverse directors, including one who identifies as female and another one as an underrepresented minority or LGBTQ+. If the company doesn’t have that, it must explain why.
The listed companies must also publicly disclose the diversity of their boards.
Nasdaq has earlier published a study showing that 75% of the listed companies would not meet the now approved rules.
The Commission´s chairman Gary Gensler in a statement said that “these rules will allow investors to gain a better understanding of Nasdaq-listed companies’ approach to board diversity”.
Moonshot News is an independent European news website for all IT, Media and Advertising professionals, powered by women and with a focus on driving the narrative for diversity, inclusion and gender equality in the industry.
Our mission is to provide top and unbiased information for all professionals and to make sure that women get their fair share of voice in the news and in the spotlight!
We produce original content, news articles, a curated calendar of industry events and a database of women IT, Media and Advertising associations.
