EU agrees ‘landmark’ 40% quota for women on corporate boards

The EU is also mandating a minimum 33% share of the ‘underrepresented sex’ in all senior corporate roles. Photograph: John Fedele/Getty Images/Tetra images RF

The EU has agreed that companies will face mandatory quotas to ensure women have at least 40% of seats on corporate boards.

After 10 years of stalemate over the proposals, EU lawmakers hailed a “landmark” deal for gender equality. As well as the legally binding target, companies could also be fined for failing to recruit enough women to their non-executive boards and see board appointments cancelled for non-compliance with the law.