Growth in number of female directors at listed companies stagnates
The growth of female executive board members at companies listed on the Amsterdam stock exchange has stalled, with current trends suggesting gender parity in these roles will not be reached until 2044. While supervisory boards have successfully met mandatory quotas, the pace of new female appointments to executive boards remains stagnant.
Research from Tilburg University indicates that the growth of female executive board members at companies listed on the Amsterdam stock exchange has plateaued. While the total share of women in these executive roles rose slightly from 17 to 18 percent over the past year, the number of new female appointments remains low. Out of 33 new board appointments, only six were women, and because five female executives stepped down, the net increase was just one. Researcher Mijntje Lückerath-Rovers notes that at the current pace, it will take until 2044 for one-third of these executive board members to be women.
In contrast, the situation for supervisory boards is more balanced, with 44 percent female representation, comfortably exceeding the mandatory Dutch quota of 33 percent. Four companies—PostNL, Triodos, Fastned, and Hydratec—have achieved equal gender representation in both their boards of directors and supervisory boards. Despite these advancements in supervisory roles, the overall rate of new female appointments as commissioners in the Netherlands has halved, leaving the country at the bottom of recent European rankings.
Based on reporting by nu. Translated and condensed by LocalHeadlines.
