Large Spanish companies are far from parity in management positions promoted by the EU

Spanish listed companies are very far from the parity objective that the European Commission agreed on Tuesday to comply with an initiative presented last March that foresees that 40% of the members of the boards of directors of these companies are women.

Thomas Osborne
Thomas Osborne
08 June 2022 Wednesday 02:24
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Large Spanish companies are far from parity in management positions promoted by the EU

Spanish listed companies are very far from the parity objective that the European Commission agreed on Tuesday to comply with an initiative presented last March that foresees that 40% of the members of the boards of directors of these companies are women. 33% in the case of the entire management team of these companies.

The latest data from the INE, corresponding to 2021, indicate that in these companies there are barely 29.26% female directors and 19.66% female managers. Percentages that in the case of Ibex 35 companies amount to 34.20% and 22.00%, respectively, but which fall as market capitalization decreases. In the case of listed companies with less than 500 million euros, the ratio is 25.19% and 16.59%, respectively.

Despite these percentages, there is reason for optimism, since the rapid growth of female representation in these positions stands out. In fact, in a decade, between 2007 and 2017, the percentage of women on the boards of directors of Ibex 35 companies grew from 6% to 22%, in line with compliance with the Good Governance Code of the National Commission of the Stock Market, which recommends a 33% presence of female directors.

Even so, the presence of women in the governing bodies of Spanish listed companies is notably lower than in countries such as France, which has 38% female directors, Sweden (36%) or Italy (33%).

By sectors, Technology, Media and Telecommunications and Energy and Resources are positioned with the highest percentage of women on their boards, with 29.3%.