Dutch missing target on women in business leadership

The "legal target" of having a minimum of 30 percent women in business leadership positions by next year at the latest will definitely not be achieved. This means that a compulsory woman quota may be implemented. This is according to the Dutch Female Board Index by professor Mijntje Luckerath, which was published on Friday, the Volkskrant reports. Luckerath annually maps the number of female directors and commissioners at listed companies in the Netherlands. Sixteen of the listed companies who do not have women in leadership positions appointed 19 new directors last year, but they were all male. The number of female commissioners at the listed companies also declined slightly. The legal target was established in 2013. It should have led to at least 30 percent women in leadership positions at the several thousand large companies and organizations that fall under the Act on Management and Supervision. In the 84 listed companies, that percentage has not been reached by a long shot. With the listed companies not even close to reaching the target, there is not much hope that the other companies and organizations have managed to reach it. This means that a binding quota on the number of women in business leadership positions may be implemented. Responsible Minister Jet Bussemaker previously stated that she is not in favor of such a quota, but will have to see rapid progress if it is to be avoided. The minister will soon present an evaluation on the progress, after further research on the target. The Minister told the Volkskrant that the Female Board Index shows that "the boardroom door stands ajar for women", but that it is "really just going too slow". The percentage of female directors and commissioners did increase very slightly last year, following the painfully slow upward trend of previous years. Sixteen of the 206 board members are now women. The percentage of female directors increased by slightly more than one percent to 7.8 percent. The percentage of female commissioners increased from 20 percent to 21.3 percent.