Partner Article

EU stops short on boardroom gender mission

The European Commission has published diluted plans to get more women into top positions in businesses.

A proposed directive will set an objective of 40% women among non-executive director roles in publicly listed companies, with the exception of SMEs.

The move will mean companies are obligated to meet the targets by 2020, but actual policy will fall to member states to decide.

The Commission says member states should lay down dissuasive sanctions for companies in breach of the directive.

A statement from the Commission said: “Inbuilt safeguards will make sure that there is no unconditional, automatic promotion of the under-represented sex.

“In line with the European Court of Justice’s case law on positive action, preference shall be given to the equally qualified under-represented sex, unless an objective assessment taking into account all criteria specific to the individual candidates tilts the balance in favour of the candidate of the other sex.”

Vice-President Viviane Reding, the EU’s Justice Commissioner, added: “The European Union has been successfully promoting gender equality for over 50 years. However, there is one place where we have not seen any progress: company boardrooms.

“The example set by countries such as Belgium, France and Italy, who have recently adopted legislation and are starting to show progress, clearly demonstrates that time-limited regulatory intervention can make all the difference.

“The Commission’s proposal will make sure that in the selection procedure for non-executive board members priority is given to female candidates – provided they are under-represented and equally qualified as their male counterparts.”

I am indebted to the numerous members of the European Parliament who have fought tirelessly for this cause and who have been instrumental in helping me get this proposal on the table.“

Business Secretary Vince Cable welcomed the proposals and reaffirmed the Government’s belief that measures are best considered at national level.

He said: “We believe that the UK’s business-led, self-regulatory model, as set out in the Davies Review, is the best approach for us. We will now consider the Commission’s proposal carefully and work with other Member States to ensure the final Directive supports our efforts to ensure we have diverse and effective boards.”

Katja Hall, CBI Chief Policy Director, commented: “Businesses will be relieved that the Commission has listened to their concerns. These new proposals rightly focus on the need to improve boardroom diversity, while allowing firms to recruit the best candidates from the widest possible talent pool. MEPs should get behind this approach.

“Increasing the number of women in boardrooms is important for businesses, who know that gender diversity brings greater creativity, higher performance and better customer insight. That is why firms are already taking action to increase the flow of women to the top, such as targeting mentoring schemes at women and offering flexible working.”

Image: Viviane Reding

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .