Men continue to dominate the boardrooms of publicly traded companies. This is evident from the Female Board Index 2023, which charts the proportion of female directors and supervisory directors at 88 listed companies. Mijntje Lückerath-Rovers, professor of Corporate Governance, who drew up the inventory, speaks of “a standstill” and sees how companies fail to increase the number of women in their boardrooms.
Just like last year, the share of women in the boardroom is only 15 percent. Of the thirty new positions within the board of directors, where the real decisions are made, four went to a woman. Three female drivers left at the same time. Still 61 of the 88 listed companies do not have a single woman on their board of directors.
Women are better represented within the Supervisory Board. They have held 39 percent of the positions there in the past two years. That is more than enough for the women’s quota, which was imposed on listed companies last year. According to that quota, at least one third of the supervisory board must consist of women.
The hope was that this legislative intervention would also correct the imbalance between men and women in other high positions. The thought was that as soon as the number of female supervisory directors with enforceable regulations skyrockets, the number of female directors will follow. According to Lückerath-Rovers, this effect does not materialise. “Attention to the equality issue has completely slackened.”
A version of this article also appeared in the September 1, 2023 issue.