Proposed French Law Mandates Gender Quotas for Corporate Boards

France's parliament is considering a law requiring that women comprise 40% of public companies' boards of directors, reports Times Online. Women represent only 10% of board seats in France's 650 publicly-traded companies, and some large companies have no female directors. If the bill passes, companies will have six years in which to comply.

The bill has the support of both the Government and Medef, the national employers' association. If the law passes, France will be the third (and largest) European country to enact a quota; Norway and Spain both have similar laws in place.

In a related development, France's Labor Minister will table a bill later this session concerning gender inequality in the workplace, and this bill also may include quotas.

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