Belgium to introduce gender quotas for top management of state firms

Belgium’s federal government has agreed to introduce gender quotas for the executive teams of autonomous state-owned companies, such as bpost, NMBS, Proximus and Infrabel.

For the first time, the rule will apply not only to boards of directors but also to executive committees. At least 33 per cent of members will have to be women.

There is no fixed deadline yet, but Equal Opportunities minister Rob Beenders (Vooruit) said companies would have to comply “in the short term”.

The impact will vary by company. At bpost group, recently renamed Bnode, only two of the ten executive directors are women, meaning changes will be needed. NMBS already meets the requirement, with three women in a nine-member team.

Belgium already has quotas for boards of directors, which have significantly increased female representation. According to government figures, the share of women on boards rose from under 10 per cent in 2008 to more than 37 per cent today.

Beenders said quotas are a temporary measure to break long-standing barriers. He originally proposed stricter rules, including a 40 per cent quota and extending them to large private companies, but faced resistance from coalition partners. They argued that quotas are too intrusive and that companies should be free to choose their leaders based on merit. As a result, the government settled on a lower threshold and limited the measure to state-owned firms.

The draft law will now be sent for advice to the Council of State and other bodies, before going to parliament for approval.

^{Minister of Equal Opportunities Rob Beenders © BELGA PHOTO NICOLAS MAETERLINCK}