Subsidiarity assessment - gender balance on boards, report, 9th report of session 2012-13 (Paperback)

The Committee previously conducted an inquiry into mandatory quotas for women on corporate boards, offering its view on the expected Commission proposal before it was published on 14 November 2012 (HL 58, session 2012-13, ISBN 9780108476235). The Committee has objected to the proposal on the grounds that the efforts made by businesses and governments at national level, mean that action at EU level is unnecessary. More than a third of people appointed to FTSE 100 boards last year were women, and FTSE 100 companies are expecting to see a quarter of their board positions taken by women by 2015. Across the EU as a whole, the proportion of women on boards has risen by 16% since 2010. Business leaders and national governments need to be given a chance to build upon these efforts before we consider quotas. The Committee suggests that the proposal does not adequately take into account the different rates of change, board structures and cultural contexts within each Member State. It reiterates support for the aim of increasing gender diversity on boards, but says that the Commission could usefully assist national Governments through other means, such as issuing a non-binding Recommendation to Member States, and taking further action where individual Member States fail to comply with their obligations to combat discrimination. The Committee maintains that the proposal does not comply with the principle of subsidiarity, which means that legislation should be made at the lowest appropriate level - in this case, by each country.