La loi Copé-Zimmermann permet à la France d’être en tête de l’index européen Ewob-Ethics and boards

First EWoB and Ethics & Boards Index maps the current status of gender diversity in 200 European listed companies

• Average of 33.6% of women on non-executive boards
• 5% of female Chairs of Board of Directors
• 5% of female CEOs

Today, European Women on Boards (EWoB) and Ethics & Boards announce the publication of their first European Gender Diversity Index. The comparative ranking highlights the best practices of European companies in terms of gender diversity and has been set up with the purpose to measure the evolution of gender diversity at the top of the European corporate world. It analyses the situation in the 200 largest companies of the Stoxx Europe 600 registered in nine European countries(*) on 31 July 2018.

For the 2018 edition, 3 different indicators were measured:

• The percentage of women on Boards (**)
• The presence of a woman serving as Chair of the non-Executive Board (**)
• The presence of a woman serving as Chief Executive Officer or Chair of the Executive Board

The company with the best female representation on the Board is Kering (FR): 60%

The company with a Woman Chair and the best female representation on the Board is Sodexo (FR): 53,8%

The company with a Woman CEO and the best female representation on the Board is GlaxoSmithKline (UK): 45,5%

1. Percentage of women on Boards

The average female representation on Boards in the Index is 33,6%. For the countries, the ranking is as follows (country name, number of companies in the Index, % of female representation):

1. France (30): 44.2% 
2. Italy (26): 36.5% 
3. Germany (30): 33.7% 
4. Finland (16): 33.3% 
5. Belgium (13): 32.7% 
6. The Netherlands (20): 31.7% 
7. The United Kingdom (37): 29.9% 
8. Spain (26): 24.6% 
9. The Czech Republic (2): 19% 

The top companies in terms of female representation on the Board are

1. Kering (France): 60%
2. Sodexo (France): 53,8%
3. Accor (France): 50%

57.5% of companies have at least 1/3 of Women on the Board. 9% of companies have 20% or less of Women sitting on the Board.

2. Woman Chair of the non-Executive Board

5% of the companies in the Index have a Woman Chair of the Board/Supervisory Board. The top companies with a Woman Chair of the Board / Supervisory Board and % of Women on the Board are

1. Sodexo (France): 53.8%
2. Terna (Italy): 50%
3. Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (Spain): 46.2%

3. Woman CEO or Chair of the Executive Board

4.5% of the companies in the Index have a Woman serving as CEO / Chair of the Executive Board. The Top companies with a Woman serving as CEO / Chair of the Executive Board and % of Women on the Board are

1. GlaxoSmithKline (The United Kingdom): 45,5%
2. Wolters Kluwer (The Netherlands) and Proximus (Belgium): 42,9%
3. Engie (France): 42,1%

The full index with all the country and company data can be downloaded here.

EWoB and Ethics & Boards want to thank all the companies who have collaborated to confirm the gender diversity data of the 2018 edition of the Index. The associations look forward to the 2019 edition of their EGDI.

 (*) EWoB member countries: Belgium, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom

(**) For companies with a dual structure, “Board” indicates the non-executive body.

***

About Ethics & Boards

Ethics & Boards is the largest independent international corporate governance data place. As a 360° expert in the field of corporate governance data, Ethics & Boards aggregates the most significant number of public data in the market to provide a clear understanding of the composition and functioning of corporate governance bodies. Ethics & Boards gives each of the stakeholders the power to take decisions, to manage their risks, reputation and value, and to act on the basis of tangible and measurable information. 

Ethics & Boards is a reference partner in the field of online governance analytics for funds, listed companies and institutions such as the French Government, IFA-Institut Français des Administrateurs, INSEAD Corporate Governance Center, AGEFI Grands Prix du Gouvernement d’Entreprise and ICR-Institut du Capitalisme Responsable. www.ethicsandboards.com

About European Women on Boards (EWoB)

European Women on Boards (*2013) is a unique network of organizations promoting female participation on boards of directors or supervisory boards across Europe. EWoB has three main fields of activity: the EWoB – Ethics & Boards European Gender Diversity Index, International Board Professionals (a pool of high-level female professionals) and a cross-border Mentoring Programme to help women prepare for top level corporate positions. Today, EWoB has 10 member organizations in 9 European countries. EWoB is a non-profit organization and is located in Brussels.

www.europeanwomenonboards.eu