Record number of women took top jobs at Dutch companies last year

The number of women in management positions in large Dutch companies has increased in the past year. Almost a third of newly appointed directors at listed companies were women - a new record and a massive increase compared to last year’s 13 percent, NOS reports from the annual Female Board Index.

The index has been tracking the proportion of female directors and supervisory directors at 82 Dutch listed companies for 18 years.

Companies listed in the AEX are working particularly hard on gender diversity, said Mintje Lückerath-Rovers, a professor and the compiler of the index. “On average, they are doing much better in the AEX. 25 percent of directors there are women. They are also more likely to be criticized because they are much more visible than the small companies that nobody knows. Many people work at AEX companies, and they want to convey that they are modern,” she said.

On the downside, there are still 57 companies with not a single woman on the Board of Directors. Those companies did appoint 14 new male directors in the past year.

The Netherlands does not have a quota for women on the board of directors but does have one for supervisory boards. Since 2022, it has been legally required for listed companies to have at least 33 percent women on their supervisory boards.

73 of the 82 listed companies now comply with this requirement. The number of men and women at this level has been almost equal for some time now. This year, there are 53 percent men and 47 percent women on listed companies' supervisory boards.

The nine companies that don’t comply with the quota are relatively small, local listed companies. They are not in violation because they did not appoint any new supervisory board members in the past year.

According to Lückerath-Rovers, the quota is not the only reason why the difference in gender diversity on boards of directors and supervisory boards is so great. The supply of people also plays a role. “With supervisory board members, you always look outside, which means that the pool you are looking in is many times larger. A management position is often a full-time job, and new directors often flow through from other layers of the organization. If the rest of the company is diverse enough, then everything will be fine.”

“It is great that this index shows a significant increase in the percentage of newly appointed female directors,” State Secretary Mariëlle Paul (Emancipation) said to RTL Nieuws. “I am convinced that a diverse top, with sufficient role models for everyone, ensures better business operations.”

But there is still work to be done, she said, referring to the 57 companies with no women on their boards of directors. She urged companies to set “ambitious targets” for their boards.