By July 2026, all big publicly listed companies in the EU will have to take measures to increase women’s presence at their helm.

The adoption of the so-called “Women on Boards” Directive on Tuesday comes ten years after the proposal was first made. It aims to introduce transparent recruitment procedures in companies, so that at least 40% of non-executive director posts or 33% of all director posts are occupied by the under-represented sex by the end of June 2026.

Merit must remain the key criterion in selection procedures, which should be transparent, according to the new rules. Listed companies will have to provide information about the gender representation on their boards to the competent authorities once a year and, if the objectives have not been met, how they plan to attain them. This information will be published on the company’s website in an easily accessible manner.

Small and medium-sized enterprises with fewer than 250 employees are excluded from the scope of the directive.