Activities of Britta THOMSEN related to 2012/0299(COD)
Plenary speeches (1)
Gender balance among non-executive directors of companies listed on stock exchanges (debate)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT 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 PDF (870 KB) DOC (907 KB)
Amendments (12)
Amendment 47 #
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 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 reaching more balanced decisions. 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 can therefore have a positive impact on the economic performance of companies concerned. Companies should therefore take concrete steps to secure women’s access to the leadership ladder by promoting women’s career development at all levels of leadership;
Amendment 82 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 18
Recital 18
Amendment 94 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 21
Recital 21
(21) In several Member States, a certain proportion of the non-executive directors can or must be appointed or elected by the company's workforce and/or organisations of workers pursuant to national law or practice. The quantitative objectives provided for in this Directive should apply to all non-executive directors including employee representatives. However, the practical procedures for ensuring that those objectives are attained, taking into account the fact that some non-executive Directors are employee representatives, should be defined by the Member States concerned on the basis of consultations with the social partners at national level.
Amendment 114 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 26
Recital 26
(26) In line with that case-law, Member States should ensure that the selection of the best qualified candidates for non- executive directors is based on a comparative analysis of the qualifications of each candidate on the basis of pre- established, clear, neutrally formulated and unambiguous criteria. Examples of types of selection criteria that companies could apply include professional experience in managerial and/or supervisory tasks, international experience, multidisciplinarity, knowledge in specific relevant areas such as finance, controlling or human resources management, leadership and communication skills and networking abilities. Priority should be given to the candidate of the under- represented sex if that candidate is equally qualified as the candidate of the other sex in terms of suitability, competence and professional performance, and if an objective assessment taking account of all criteria specific to the individual candidates does not tilt the balance in favour of a candidate of the other sex.
Amendment 141 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 31
Recital 31
Amendment 156 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 34
Recital 34
(34) Member States should require listed companies to provide information on the gender composition of their boards as well as information on how they managed to meet the objectives laid down in this Directive, on a yearly basis to the competent national authorities in order to enable them to assess the progress of each listed company towards gender balance among directors. Such information should be publishedincluded in the company’s annual report and published in an appropriate and easily accessible manner on the company’s website and, where the company in question has not met the objective, it should include a comprehensive description of the concrete measures that it has taken so far and intends to take in the future in order to meet the objective.
Amendment 175 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 1
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 1
1) ‘listed company’ means a company incorporatedhaving its registered offices in a Member State whose securities are admitted to trading on a regulated market within the meaning of Article 4(1) (14) of Directive 2004/39/EC, in one or more Member States;
Amendment 184 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 8
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 8
Amendment 191 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 1
Article 3 – paragraph 1
Amendment 231 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 4 – paragraph 6
Article 4 – paragraph 6
Amendment 250 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 5 – paragraph 2
Article 5 – paragraph 2
2. Member States shall require listed companies to provide information to the competent national authorities, once a year as from [two years after adoption], about the gender representation on their boards, distinguishing between non-executive and executive directors and about the measures taken in view of the objectives laid down in Article 4(1) and in paragraph 1 of this Article,. Member States shall also require listed companies to include that information in the annual report and to publish that information in an appropriate and easily accessible manner on their website.
Amendment 256 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 5 – paragraph 3
Article 5 – paragraph 3
3. Where a listed company does not meet the objectives laid down in Article 4(1) or its own individual commitments taken pursuant to paragraph 1 of this Article, the information referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article shall clearly include the reasons for not reaching the objectives or commitments and a description of the measures which the company has adopted or intends to adopt in order to meet the objectives or commitments.