Nearly half of listed companies meet goal of gender equality

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Nearly half of listed companies meet goal of gender equality

The Central Chamber of Commerce has been watching the number of women on the boards of listed companies for several years, based on the composition of boards appointed at the general meetings of shareholders. Almost half of the companies that are listed have already met the goal of gender equality when looking at the data for 2022 and all listed companies.

Out of the 130 listed companies surveyed, only 16 would have been outside the scope of the EU's quota directive, which will take effect in 2026. Nearly half of the companies that fall under the directive already meet the goal of equal representation of men and women in boards and supervisory boards, as proposed in the directive.

In Finland, women's leadership has been promoted through self-regulation. Alongside this, a climate must be created that encourages women to advance in their careers. It is important for companies to pay attention to the women's career paths so that they lead to business leadership positions and CEO positions instead of support functions, according to Ville Kajala, the Central Chamber of Commerce's leading expert.

The Corporate Governance Code, which specifies that the board of a listed company should include both genders, is a reason why there is an increase in the proportion of women on boards. If a listed company does not follow this recommendation, it must justify the deviation publicly.

According to the Central Chamber of Commerce's report, the gender balance of the body responsible for preparing the proposal for the board's composition also matters.

The survey showed that there were clear differences. In companies where the proposal for the board's composition was prepared by a shareholder's committee, and the committee included at least one woman, women accounted for 40% of the board's membership. The proportion of women on the boards was 31% when the nomination committee consisted only of men, according to Kajala.

In almost 30% of listed companies, a balanced gender distribution is achieved in executive management teams. Equal representation of men and women in an executive team is said to be achieved when the less represented gender accounts for at least 40% of the team.

The report's findings indicate progress has been made, but there is still a long way to go to achieve gender equality in leadership positions. Diversity in selecting board members and recruiting executive team members is something that should be paid more attention. As Ville Kajala stressed on International Women's Day, a supportive environment for women is crucial for women's advancement in their careers.