Women's Quota in listed companies having an effect: CPB

The women’s quota for supervisory boards of listed companies in the Netherlands is having an effect. Almost a fifth of companies did not yet meet the quota at the end of 2022. Still, the male-female ratio within supervisory boards is improving, the Netherlands Bureau of Economic Analysis (CPB) concluded based on research.

The “More Balanced Ratio between Men and Women in Management and Supervisory Boards Act” took effect in 2022. It states that at least one-third of the members of listed companies’ supervisory boards must be women, and companies must make appointments aimed at achieving this quota.

Since the government announced the law four years ago, the gender ratio has improved, according to the CPB. Before the law was announced, less than 35 percent of listed companies had 33 percent women on their supervisory boards. In 2020, that grew to 70 percent; by the end of 2022, almost 82 percent of companies met the quota.

The researchers also specifically noted that they saw no evidence that the quota negatively impacted companies due to a lack of good female candidates - a concern often raised by critics.

The CPB did this study in collaboration with Leiden University, the University of Groningen, Bureau Pouwels, and the Netherlands Institute for Social Research (SCP).