Press Release: Regulatory pressure gets the ball rolling: Share of women on company boards up to 15.8% in Europe

On 25 January 2013 the Commission released mid-term figures on the share of women on boards in publicly listed companies. The new figures show an increase in the number of women on boards to 15.8%, up from 13.7% in January 2012.

This breaks down into an average of 17% of non-executive board members (up from 15% in January 2012) and 10% of executive board members (up from 8.9%). An increase in the share of women on boards has been recorded in all but three EU countries (Bulgaria, Poland and Ireland).

The new figure represents a 2.2 percentage point increase as compared to October 2011 and is the highest year on year change yet recorded.

This boost follows the women on boards proposal that the European Commission adopted on 14 November 2012 (IP/12/1205 and MEMO/12/860) to introduce a 40% objective for women on boards based on merit. It also reflects the impact of high-level EU discussions about the need for legislation regulating the number of women on boards.