The new impulse that has registered the presence of women on the boards of directors has managed to reach the first level recommended by the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV): 30% of the chairs are occupied by women, with the data of 2021 on the table. Specifically, the presence of women stood at 29.26% of the total, which is three points more than a year before, according to information extracted from the annual corporate governance reports of the companies.
The figure of 30% means that the companies have practically reached, on average, the objective established in 2015 in the previous Code of Good Governance.
The evolution is more positive among large companies, since in Ibex-35 companies women represent 34.20% of the members of their boards, which means that they are just over five points away from reaching the new objective of 40% by the end of this year that was established in the last reform of the Code. According to public data, there are already 25 companies (9 of the Ibex-35) that reach the aforementioned increased objective.
For the companies in the index to meet that figure, they would have to appoint 24 female directors, which represents just 5.7% of its total members. In the case of the rest of the listed companies, they would manage to reach that 40% with the appointment of 107 women to their governing bodies, out of a total of 799 members at the closing date of the data.
As for senior management, women held 19.66% of all senior management positions, more than two points above the previous year. Those positions that report directly to the company’s board or chief executive and, in any case, to the internal auditor, are considered senior management for these purposes.
The CNMV considers that listed companies should accelerate the incorporation of more women in positions of greater responsibility, especially in senior management positions and as executive directors, as has happened in the rest of the categories. In addition to favoring the necessary gender diversity, this incorporation would allow maximizing the talent available to the issuing companies.
The data is based on the records published by the listed companies in their annual reports on board remuneration and the reference date is December 31, 2021. They also distinguish three categories of companies: those of the Ibex-35, companies not belonging to the Ibex with a capitalization of more than 500 million euros and the rest.
In addition, data on the presence of women company by company is included. If the data is analyzed by these groups, a large dispersion is still observed. Thus, in terms of the percentage of female directors, Ibex-35 companies were almost five percentage points above the average for the listed sector (29.26%), compared to 28.17% of companies with more than 500 million euros of capitalization and 25.19% of the rest.
By categories of directors, the presence of women continues to increase in the group of independent directors (43.68% in 2021 compared to 39% in 2020) followed by proprietary directors (23.56%). On the contrary, the low number of executive directors stands out, whose weight stands at 6.42%.
Regarding the presence of women in senior management, in the members of the Ibex-35, it advanced almost five percentage points in a single year, since at the end of 2021 it amounted to 22% (17.1% in 2020) . In companies with more than 500 million capitalization, the figure was 18.96% and 16.59% in those with less than 500 million.
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