Activities of Marian HARKIN related to 2012/0299(COD)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on improving the gender balance among non-executive directors of companies listed on stock exchanges and related measures
Amendments (12)
Amendment 45 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 2 a (new)
Recital 2 a (new)
(2a) In order to achieve gender equality in the workplace there must be a gender balanced model of decision making at all levels within the company while also ensuring the elimination of the gender pay gap which contributes significantly to the feminisation of poverty.
Amendment 46 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 6 a (new)
Recital 6 a (new)
(6a) In their internal staffing policies all EU institutions and agencies should comply with the principle of gender equality, in particular by ensuring gender balanced decision making at all levels within the bodies concerned.
Amendment 48 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 7
Recital 7
(7) The efficient use of human capital is the most important determinant of an economy's competitiveness and is key to addressing the EU's ever increasing demographic challenges, to competing successfully in a globalised economy and to ensuring a comparative advantage vis-à- vis third countries. The pool of highly trained and qualified women is constantly growing as evidenced by the fact that 60 per cent of university graduates are female. A continued failure to draw on this pool in appointments to economic decision-making positions would amount to a failure to fully exploit skilled human capital.
Amendment 49 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 7 a (new)
Recital 7 a (new)
(7a) In order to ensure the promotion of gender equality, Member States should put in place provisions whereby men and women can combine work and family life, in particular, flexible arrangements and supports for those with care responsibilities.
Amendment 50 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 8
Recital 8
(8) At company level, it is widely acknowledged that the presence of women on boards improves corporate governance, because team performance is enhanced and the quality of decision- making are enhanced due to a more diverse and collective mind-set incorporating a wider range of perspectives and therefore reachingis improved due to the fact that it incorporates a more balanced decisionsperspective. Numerous studies have also shown that there is a positive relationship between gender diversity at top management level and a company's financial performance and profitability. Enhancing female representation on the boards of publicly listed companies in the Union canshould therefore have a positive impact on the performance of companies concerned.
Amendment 52 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 9
Recital 9
(9) Existing evidence also shows that labour market equality can improve economic growth substantially. Enhancing female presence in the boardrooms of listed companies in the Union not only affects the women appointed to boards, but also contributes to attracting female talent to the company and ensuring a greater presence of women at all levels of management and in the workforce. Therefore, a higher share of women on company boards hasshould have a positive impact on closing both the gender employment gap and the gender pay gap. Making full use of the existing female talent pool would constitute a marked improvement in terms of return on education for both individuals and the public sector. Female under- representation in the board rooms of publicly listed companies in the EU is a missed opportunity in terms of achieving long- term sustainable growth for Member States' economies at large.
Amendment 60 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 14
Recital 14
(14) While this Directive does not aim to harmonise national laws on the selection procedures and qualification criteria for board positions in detail, the introduction of certain minimum standards as regards the requirement for listed companies without balanced gender representation to take appointment decisions for non- executive directors on the basis of an objective comparative assessment of the qualifications of candidates in terms of suitability, competence and professional performance ishas been shown to be necessary in order to attain gender balance among non-executives directors. Only an EU-level measure can effectively help to ensure a competitive level-playing field throughout the Union and avoid practical complications in business life.
Amendment 64 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 15
Recital 15
(15) The Europe 2020 Strategy for Smart, Sustainable and Inclusive Growth ascertained that increased female labour force participation is a precondition for boosting growth and for tackling demographic challenges in Europe. The Strategy set a headline target of reaching an employment rate of 75 per cent for women and men aged 20-64 by 2020, which can only be reached if there is a clear commitment to gender equality and a reinforced effort to tackle all barriers to women's participation in the labour market. The current economic crisis has magnified Europe's ever-growing need to rely on knowledge, competence and innovation and to make full use of the pool of available talent. Enhancing female participation in economic decision-making, on company boards in particularand at all management levels throughout the company, is expected to have a positive spill-over effect on female employment in the companies concerned and throughout the whole economy.
Amendment 70 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 18
Recital 18
(18) This Directive should not apply to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), as defined by Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC of 6 May 2003 concerning the definition of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, even if they are listed companies, however Member states should put in place policies to support and incentivise SMEs to significantly improve the gender balance at all levels of management and on company boards.
Amendment 74 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 20
Recital 20
(20) All board systems distinguish between executive directors, who are involved in the daily management of the company, and non-executive directors who are not involved in the daily management, but do perform a supervisory function. The quantitative objectives provided for in this Directive should apply only to the non- executive directors in order to strike the right balance between the need to increase the gender diversity of boards and the need to minimise interference with the day-to- day management of a company, however Member States should encourage and incentivise companies to extend the provisions of this Directive to executive directors and to all levels of management within the company. As the non-executive directors perform supervisory tasks, it is also easier to recruit qualified candidates from outside the company and to a large extent also from outside the specific sector in which a company operates – a consideration which is of importance for areas of the economy where members of a particular sex are especially under- represented in the workforce.
Amendment 81 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 23
Recital 23
(23) Member States exercise a dominant influence over listed companies which are public undertakings within the meaning of Article 2(b) of Commission Directive 2006/111/EC of 16 November 2006 on the transparency of financial relations between Member States and public undertakings, as well as on financial transparency within certain undertakings. Due to that dominant influence, they have the instruments at their disposal to bring about the necessary change more rapidly. Therefore, in such companies the objective of least 40 per cent of non-executive directors of the under-represented sex should be set at an earlier date and Member States should encourage and incentivise these companies to extend the provisions of this Directive to executive directors and to all levels of management within the company.
Amendment 150 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 7 – paragraph 1
Article 7 – paragraph 1
Member States mayare encouraged to introduce or maintain provisions which are more favourable than those laid down in this Directive to ensure a more balanced representation of men and women in respect of companies incorporated in their national territory, in particular the attainment of the provisions of this Directive in the case of executive directors, provided those provisions do not create unjustified discrimination, nor hinder the proper functioning of the internal market.