Women are underrepresented on the boards of directors of companies in every single Member State within the European Union (EU). Even though we are making progress, it is too slow; boards have been, and continue to be, predominantly not only male, but also white. With this rate of progress, it will take more than three decades to achieve gender parity in the boardroom let alone have diverse boards in the broadest sense.

We have witnessed that the absence of regulation within some Member States does not only lead to the discrepancies in the number of women among non-executive directors and different rates of improvement within the European Union, but also poses barriers to the internal market by imposing divergent corporate governance requirements on European listed companies. Against this background, it is more important than ever to improve gender parity in the boardroom with measures in place in all European Member States.

Through the overview below, learn more on gender balance quota and targets currently in place in the Member States.