France Approves Gender Parity Quotas for Business Management

The French Senate approved this Friday (16) the establishment of quotas for gender parity in the boards of directors of large companies, a law supported by the government that aims to break the “roof” for women.

The legislation, which has already been approved by the Chamber, establishes a minimum quota for women — at least 30% until 2027 and 40% in 2030 — in the management of companies with more than a thousand employees.

Its adoption comes ten years after another law that imposed 40% of women on boards of directors, but which did not imply a feminization of executive and management boards.

“Unfortunately, the ceiling in the main instances of companies (…) is still not very transparent”, lamented the Minister of Gender Equality, Elisabeth Moreno.

As of 2030, companies will have another two years to meet their quotas, under penalty of financial penalties. Companies must also publish the percentages of men and women each year.

According to the Superior Council for Equality between Women and Men, the executive and management committees of the 120 top-listed companies had 19% women in 2019, against 43.6% in management.

In addition to quotas, the text also seeks to “combat gender bias” when choosing professional careers, thanks to an “equality index” in higher education, among others.

To prevent economic violence between couples, individual wages and social benefits must be deposited in a bank account, in which the worker appears as the owner or joint owner.

Other measures seek to facilitate the reception of children from single-parent families in day care centers, mostly run by mothers, in addition to training programs.

These provisions “allow women to be removed from work after giving birth and help them return to work,” added the Minister for Equality.