Women advance into board positions: Finland leads the EU with record proportion of women on company boards

Self-regulation works: the proportion of women on listed company boards has increased significantly, by around 20 per cent since last year. “This development shows that gender quotas for boards of directors are not the only solution,” says Leena Linnainmaa, Deputy Director General of Finland Chamber of Commerce.

This spring, Finland Chamber of Commerce reviewed the composition of listed companies’ boards of directors. The number of women on boards of directors has increased significantly. Some 86 per cent of all listed companies already have both men and women on their boards, while last year the figure was 78 per cent and in 2008 only 51 per cent. 

  

“All large and mid cap companies fulfil the Finnish Corporate Governance Code’s recommendation on both genders, while last year the boards of four mid cap companies still consisted of men only. The Finnish Corporate Governance Code’s recommendation on the participation of both genders on boards of directors has proved to be effective,” explains Linnainmaa.  

European Union record

Women now account for 22 per cent of listed companies’ board members in Finland, compared with last year’s figure of 18 per cent. In 2008 it was 12 per cent and in 2003 only 7 per cent. 



In large cap companies, women now make up 28 per cent of board members, in mid cap companies 23 per cent and in small caps 16 per cent. Last spring, the corresponding figures were 26, 19 and 12 per cent, i.e. the change is significant. The result differs favourably from EU countries, particularly since Finland does not impose statutory quotas as Norway and France do, for example.
 


“Finland already held the European Union record for women in board positions of large companies. This spring’s figures show that gender quotas are not the only solution. Businesses have achieved the change through their own actions,” says Linnainmaa.  

Golden skirt phenomenon avoided

In Finland, reaching equal representation on boards will not take 40 years, as EU Commissioner Viviane Reding has calculated on the basis of Pan-European trends,” continues Linnainmaa. Some 15 Finnish listed companies have at least 3 women on their boards of directors, while Sanoma Corporation (5/5) and Kemira Plc (3/3) have equal numbers of men and women on their boards.

 There are currently 119 listed companies in Finland.  

“It is particularly reassuring that board positions are distributed over a rather large group of women, 139 in total. Finland has not seen, as has happened in Norway, the development of the ‘golden skirt’ phenomenon, where, as a result of quota legislation, the same women have accumulated up to 10 or more board positions," observes Linnainmaa.  



In Finland only 20 women have two board positions and only one has three. There is now good reason to turn attention to senior executive positions, where there are still very few women represented in management. In view of this, Finland Chamber of Commerce has launched a mentoring programme for female executives.  

Further information: Leena Linnainmaa tel. +358 50 356 1183 or Anne Horttanainen tel. +358 40 510 4907