All large listed companies in the European Union (EU) will have to take steps to increase the presence of women on boards by July 2026, so that at least 40% of non-executive director positions or 33% of all administrator positions are occupied by women until the end of June 2026. The directive, approved this Tuesday in the European Parliament, aims to introduce transparent recruitment procedures in companies and leaves out small and medium-sized companies with less than 250 employees .
The European Commission first presented its proposal in 2012, with the process blocked in the Council for almost a decade, until the Employment and Social Affairs ministers reached a common position in March 2022. Council reached an agreement in June.
“In the ten years that this directive has been on the shelf, meeting rooms have continued to be predominantly the domain of men,” said Lara Walters, co-rapporteur, quoted by the European Parliament, adding: “But in countries where binding quotas have been introduced , considerably more women were appointed. With this law, these countries will no longer be the exception and gender balance in boardrooms of listed companies will become the norm across the EU”.
Also the Austrian co-rapporteur Evelyn Regner believes that the adoption of the directive is an important step forward for gender equality. “We are finally giving women a fair chance to hold top corporate positions and improving corporate governance. Women are innovative, smart, strong and capable of many things. We are removing one of the main obstacles for women to achieve ‘top jobs’: men’s informal networks,” he said.
Parliament underlines that merit must continue to be the fundamental criterion in selection processes, which must be transparent, according to the new rules. But in cases where candidates are equally qualified for a position, priority should be given to women.