The European Union recently made a proposition for the boards of big companies to have a minimum of 40% of non-executive women members due to the significant under representation of females in this field.
Considering that we are in the 21st century, where women have access to education and have demonstrated that they are capable of carrying out the same jobs as men at an equal standard, (-if not higher), it could be argued that 40% is too small a number and should be raised to 50% to promote equality between both sexes.
When looking at the statistics, it is shocking to see the disproportion of women to men. According to a study carried out in 2012 by the European Commission’s Database study, the majority of European countries have less than 30% of women executive and non-executive members on the boards of the largest listed companies. This shows an unfavourable ratio between men and woman which is frankly unacceptable in this modern day.
Although the notion does not apply to small and medium-sized companies, I believe that it is still a good approach in attempting to break the ‘glass ceiling’ effect, which will subsequently have an effect and impact on other institutions. However, I’m not the only one who agrees with this essential proposal. Statistics show that almost 9/10 Europeans agree that given equal competence, women should be equally represented in positions of leadership in companies. Furthermore, one third of Europeans are in favour of legislation on gender balance on company boards.
The EU has also propositioned for the companies to create self-regulatory targets regarding the representation of both male and females among executive directors. This approach taken can surely bring a sense of political correctness to the 21st century, as well as the equal status deserved of women.
