The coming weeks will show whether after more than three years of negotiations, the Member States will agree to the proposal of the EU Commission regarding women on supervisory boards of listed companies. This seems actually somewhat unlikely as the general consensus amongst informed opinion is that states such as Germany, Poland or Denmark will continue to block any agreement. Austria belongs to the supporters of the proposal, just as the EU Parliament, which already agreed on this two years ago.

EU Parliament: Women's quota of 40 % shall be achieved by transparent selection process

More and more studies indicate that a balanced gender representation at management level can contribute to improving company performance. A higher share of women in top positions can lead to a more productive and innovative working environment and to an improved overall performance of a company. This was the background for the proposal submitted by the EU Commission, which aims at a share of the underrepresented gender in the supervisory boards of all listed companies – with the exception of small and medium enterprises – of 40 %. More than three years have passed since the proposal was first made. The EU Parliament agreed on a compromise, which does not provide for a mandatory quota, but an obligation to engage in a transparent selection process. Now the intention is to increase the women’s quota by preferring - in case of identical qualification - the candidate whose gender is in a minority on the supervisory board. In case of non-compliance, companies might be faced by being excluded from public orders; however, the sanctions are determined by the states themselves. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will be exempt from the Directive.

Germany blocs and adopts a key role

Since the EU Parliament had already agreed in 2013, the Member States, in their capacity as co-legislators, are now struggling to reach a compromise. However, recent informal information seems to indicate that the agreement in the Employment Council aimed at by the Luxembourg Presidency for December will not be achieved. This can only mean one thing, namely that the original proposal by the Commission will be buried in a drawer for good and that it will soon be officially withdrawn by the EU Commission. Germany has been playing a vital role during the negotiations and will do everything in her power to prevent any European regulation. This is even more incomprehensible as Germany has already introduced a national quota for women on supervisory boards. Hence, so far the European regulation had been drawn up in such a way to take German legislation into account. However, this does not alter the fact that allegedly the German government will not reopen the political discussion following national agreement. The Luxembourg Presidency will now make a last attempt to raise the subject in the Employment Council on 7 December; however, this will entail the risk that resistance will become even greater and more obvious as at that point all Member States have to declare their official position. Hence, it very much looks like as if one of the big initiatives of recent years with regard to gender equality policy will be brought down due to partly for inexplicable reasons.