Highlights

Manu Sareen, Danish Minister for gender equality
© European Union, 2012

Women make up 60% of new university graduates in the EU, yet only 12% of board members in our largest publicly listed companies are women. What is the best way to reach this untapped talent pool? The Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs (EPSCO) Council tackled this question at its meeting on 17 February.

Ministers discussed what could be done at national and EU level to facilitate qualified women's access to boardroom seats. Many stressed the economic benefits of women's participation in employment and decision-making, as well as the fact that Europe cannot afford to waste the potential of its highly educated women. "Equal opportunities create added value," said Manu Sareen, Danish Minister for gender equality, who chaired the meeting. "I think it is very important that we spread this message."

The European Commission has predicted that, over the next few decades, the share of women on the boards of the largest companies will rise by just half a percentage point a year. In other words, unless something more is done, it will take another 50 years before even a reasonable balance is achieved (at least 40% of each sex on company boards).

The Commission has therefore called on companies to make a voluntary commitment to increase women's presence on their boards to 30% by 2015 and to 40% by 2020, by actively recruiting qualified women to replace outgoing male board members. However, very few companies have actually signed this pledge.

The Council's debate will feed into an assessment of the situation by the Commission in March 2012. If insufficient progress is achieved through self-regulation, the Commission will consider different policy options for targeted measures at the EU level. Although the debate revealed a broad consensus on the need to improve the gender balance on company boards, the member states clearly have different policy ideas: some are in favour of binding quotas, while many others prefer a voluntary approach, at least at this stage.

More information:
Council debate webcast
Press conference webcast
Press release (covers the entire EPSCO Council, pdf)
Gender balance in decision-making positions (Commission webpages)
Database on women & men in decision making (produced by the Commission)
Gender Balance in Business Leadership (Commission staff working paper, pdf)