Women accounted for nearly one third of new appointments to management boards at the Netherlands 82 listed companies last year, compared with just 13% in 2022, according to the annual Female Board Index.

Tias business school professor Mijntje Lückerath, who has compiled the index for 18 years, says gender diversity is mainly a issue for big listed companies on the AEX blue chip index.

“They are doing better on average and some 25% of their executives are women. They are much more in the public eye than smaller unknown companies and are held more accountable. Many listed companies like to show that they are moving with the times,” she told broadcaster NOS.

Some 57 listed companies have no female board members at all but took on 14 male executives during the year, the index showed.

Supervisory boards

Since 2022, a third of the membership of a company’s supervisory board must by law consist of women but there is no such legal obligation for management board members.

Some 73 of the 82 listed firms now meet the supervisory board quota.

“A supervisory board function always comes from outside the company and means a wider choice,” Lückerath said. “A management job often goes to someone who comes up through the ranks. If that company has a diverse staff then things will turn out ok.”

Once there is diversity in the executive layer, it is often there to stay, Lückerath said, with women replacing women in the top jobs.