France has voted to introduce gender quotas for all companies with 1,000 employees or more.
This week the French parliament unanimously voted to set targets of 30% women in executive leadership by 2027 and 40% by 2030.
Companies will also have to publish data on where there are gender gaps in their businesses. The ‘Rixain-Castaner’ bill, which still has to pass through the senate, also sets out other gender diversity goals, such as requirements for an equality index and proposed financing for women’s entrepreneurship.
This announcement comes a decade after the Copé-Zimmermann law, which was successful in requiring companies to have at least 40% of women on their boards by 2020.
France’s new quotas align well with the aims of the 30% Club France Investor Group, which was set up last November to call on French large caps to ensure executive management teams comprise 30% women by 2025.
“We need 30% because this is a critical mass,” group chair and ESG analyst at AXA Investment Managers Marie Fromaget said in an interview with ESG Clarity.
