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EU Parliament votes in favour of the proposal on introducing quotas in boards

On the 20^th of November, the European Parliament voted in favour of a proposal to improve the gender balance among non-executive directors in European company boards by 2020.  The proposed legislation obliges companies to achieve a 40 % target of the under-represented sex in non-executive board member positions. Despite the debate in last few years, the number of women in non-executive and executive positions remains low (respectively 15 % and 8.9 %). The proposal was approved by a majority of the members of the European parliament (459 votes in favour, 148 votes against, 81 abstentions).

Vice President and EU’s Commissioner for Justice, Viviane Redding said that “[The] European Parliament vote is a historic moment for gender equality in Europe.”

Companies that do not attain this objective by 2020 would be required to revise their procedural rules and give priority to the under-represented sex provided that the candidates are equally qualified.

This proposal will go further to discussion for approval among the 28 Member States next month.

For more information about the proposal and the background, please visit the following link.