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European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on
Wednesday that she would make a new push at boosting women's
representation on company boards.
Germany and some Nordic and Baltic states in the past resisted
such a quota, arguing the matter should be settled at a national
level.
"It's time to move forward with this file," von der Leyen, the
first woman to lead the Brussels-based EU executive and an
outspoken advocate of a women's quota when she was a German
government minister, told the Financial Times.
"It's been sitting on the shelf for 10 years now, but in these
10 years there has been a lot of movement and learning." she
said, referring to a 2012 proposal calling for listed companies
in the EU to fill at least 40% of their non-executive board
seats with women.
Von der Leyen now hopes for the backing of the new government in
Berlin and support from France, which holds the bloc's rotating
presidency for the next six months.
"The balanced representation of women and men in committees is
an important concern of the German government," a German
government spokesman said. "The ministries are currently looking
into the legal proposal by the European Commission in order to
find a common position."
The proposed directive does not set out sanctions, leaving these
to member states, and it will not apply to small, medium-sized
or unlisted companies.
France currently has the strongest female representation in the
boardrooms of the biggest listed companies at 45.3%, according
to the European Institute for Gender Equality, against a 30.6%
average for the EU as a whole.
(Reporting by Andreas Rinke; Writing by Sabine Siebold; Editing
by John Chalmers and Frances Kerry)
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