Number of women in top companies is increasing, more than half meet the quota

The number of women in the top of listed companies in the Netherlands has risen. On the boards of directors, the day-to-day management of companies, the percentage of women rose from 8.5 percent in 2019 to 12.5 percent in 2020. This is evident from the annual Female Board Index van Mijntje Lückerath, professor of Corporate Governance at the TIAS School for Business and Society. In the supervisory boards, which supervise the management, it rose from 26.8 to 29.5 percent.

It is the second year in a row that the number of female directors and supervisory directors has increased. In the past there were also years of stagnation or decline. Lückerath has kept these figures for thirteen years. “I see this as a break in the trend. Last year, Eumedion, the advocate of institutional investors, made the appointment of women a spearhead. I think it has had a lot of effect, companies do not want any hassle about their appointments. The pressure is already there. It gradually becomes embarrassing when the top of a company consists entirely of men. “

Quota

A law is in the making that requires at least 33 percent of the supervisory boards of listed companies to be female. Of the 94 companies, 51 now meet that quota. Last year there were 30. There will be no quota for the boards of directors. The government is aiming for the law to take effect in January 2021.

Lückerath himself is not in favor of a quota imposed by the government. “It is a horse remedy. In principle, I think that the government should not be about appointments in the private sector. There are other ways, for example, if the government only awards contracts to companies with enough women in the top. And consumers and employees can also put pressure on them. on a company. “

Most women at ASR and Nedap

There are now fifteen companies where at least 33 percent are women on both the board of directors and the supervisory board. Insurer ASR and technology company Nedap lead the way, with women in the top half. PostNL and publisher Wolters Kluwer follow with 44 percent women.

The last place is for Envipco, which makes machines for the collection of deposit bottles. There, none of the eight directors and supervisory directors is a woman. The company had three new appointments at the top this year, all men.

–