European boardroom diversity quotas 'are getting results'

Boardroom diversity performance among European businesses is improving as a result of gender quotas introduced in many countries, according to a report.

Corporate Women Directors International (CWDI) has published statistics showing that countries including Norway, Spain, France, Iceland and Italy are all seeing major increases in female board representation since the introduction of mandatory limits.

France will soon overtake the US as having the highest level of female board members among Fortune Global 200 companies, while key European policymakers are becoming more favourable to the idea.

This comes in contrast to the slowing growth in diversity among US companies in recent years or the persistent male domination of Asian executive boards, due to pervasively traditional concepts of gender roles.

Irene Natividad, chair of CWDI, said: "The momentum for more women on boards will change the face of the biggest companies in Europe, in the midst of the region's ongoing financial crisis. They are ahead of the ball game."

This comes after a report from Deloitte earlier this week suggested that companies with more diverse boards tend to perform better.