The companies listed in EU member countries will have to, by mid-2026, have to count at least 40 % of non-executive seats allocated to women, or at least 33 % of executive and non-executive seats.
Le Monde with AFP and reuters
The project has been dragging into the boxes since a proposal made by the European Commission in 2012. The negotiators of the twenty-seven member states of the European Union (EU) and the European Parliament announced, Tuesday, June 7, to be Coming to a compromise to increase the proportion of women in the boards of directors of European companies by establishing quotas.
According to new rules, companies listed in EU member countries must ensure that women, by mid-2026, at least 40 % of non-executive seats of their advice administration, or at least 33 % of executive and non -executive seats.
“After ten years, since the European Commission proposed this directive, it is high time that we break this glass ceiling, reacted, in a statement, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. There are lots of women qualified for management positions. They should be able to access it. “
Penalnance system
Companies that do not reach these objectives will have to “apply transparent and unreed criteria” to solve the problem and “give priority to the under-represented sex” when two different sex candidates have the same qualifications, specifies the communicated. Member States will also have to set up a system of penalties for companies that do not respect the rules.
Currently, only nine of the twenty-seven member states have national legislation concerning gender equality in the boards of directors. According to the European Institute for Gender Equality, the proportion of women in the Boards of Directors of the largest companies listed on the EU increased from 11.9 % in 2010 to 31.3 % today .
But this representativeness varies greatly between the different countries of the community block. In Estonia, only 9 %of the seats are occupied by women, while in France, where a minimum legal threshold has been set at 40 %, this percentage exceeds 45 %.