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Gender Balance Act (the Netherlands)
Literature Item
Author Information:
Name: Dutch Senate and House of Representatives
Email: None
Website: https://www.houseofrepresentatives.nl/
Abstract:
On September 28, 2021, the Dutch senate approved a bill aimed at creating a more balanced ratio between woman and men in management and supervisory boards. The bill replaces the statutory target regulation of Article 2:166/267 Dutch Civil Code for large NVs and BVs, which expired on January 1, 2020. This “comply or explain” provision made insufficient progress, according to (among others) advice from the Social and Economic Council (Dutch: SER), in the growth of women in top positions. That is why the SER advocated for, among other things, firm measures and an integral approach to increasing gender diversity. The specific goal of the new act is to balance the ratio of men to women at the top of large companies. Although a mandatory target is a heavy and exceptional measure, lawmakers considered it necessary to achieve improvement. The act is aimed at large public and private companies, as well as publicly traded companies, and will impact shareholders, directors, commissioners and employees. As the legislative process was completed in November, the bill was effect on January 1, 2022. First, the bill includes an ingrowth quota of at least one-third male and one-third female for the supervisory boards of Dutch listed companies with a listing in the Netherlands. Any appointment (of a supervisory director) after January 1, 2022 that does not make the gender ratio within the supervisory board more balanced, is null and void. Exceptions apply to a supervisory board or one-tier board consisting of one person, reappointments within eight years from the year of appointment, appointments in the event of exceptional circumstances, such as when a large part of a supervisory board resigns unexpectedly, or in the case of temporary appointments by the Enterprise Chamber during an inquiry procedure.
Keywords:
gender diversity, gender diversity within companies and listed businesses, women representation in leading positions
Dates:
Jan. 1, 2022 - None
Source Specificity:
Public Policy Document
Website:
https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=729b5032-5ea2-4c42-99ea-acde677698c8
Power Domains:
Political, Economic
Methods Tools:
Awareness-raising, Self-regulation
Country:
NL
City:
None
Implementation Scale:
national
Language:
English
Other Links:
https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=729b5032-5ea2-4c42-99ea-acde677698c8
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