Two-thirds of listed companies meet women’s quota in supervisory board

More than two-thirds of Dutch listed companies have enough women on their supervisory boards this year to meet the women’s quota, Tilburg professor Mijntje Lückerath-Rovers stated in the annual Dutch Female Board Index. Last year, only half of listed companies met this standard.

At the beginning of this year, a majority in the Tweede Kamer supported a women’s quota for the supervisory board of large companies. The law which is not yet in force stipulates that at least one-third of the supervisory directors of listed companies are women.

The law states that any man who leaves must be replaced by a woman until the quota is met. If a man is nonetheless appointed, that appointment is void.

The roughly five thousand private limited companies and public limited companies not listed in the stock exchange must also demonstrate how they improve the proportion of women at the top with the aid of a target figure. How they plan to achieve this, the companies can determine for themselves but they must annually report their progress to the Social and Economic Council (SER).

In 61 out of 89 listed companies, one-third of the supervisory board consists of women. The 28 companies that have not yet met this requirement would have to appoint 33 women together to catch up. “It is mainly the smaller funds that lag behind, these are smaller, sometimes, inactive listed funds”, Lückerath-Rovers said. “A legal quota will therefore especially appeal to these smaller funds.

The growth in the number of female directors has stagnated, according to the professor. This year, on balance, there were two more female directors, compared to nine last year. The percentage of female directors is now at 13.6 percent.

Out of all companies in the Amsterdam Exchange Index, only Just Eat Takeaway does not meet the women’s quota. Two of their seven commissioners are women.