12 Amendments of Sylvie GOULARD related to 2012/0299(COD)
Amendment 61 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 7 a (new)
Recital 7 a (new)
(7a) The attainment of gender equality in society as a whole entails the establishment of equal professional rights for men and women. Active participation of men in family responsibilities is crucial for the attainment of a work-life balance and for the creation of equal career opportunities for both men and women. Attention should therefore be paid to tackling gender stereotypes, inflexible and out-dated employment policies and inadequate parental-leave provisions. Member States are encouraged to ensure the implementation of welfare elements such as modern and fair parental-leave allowances for both women and men, extensive provisions for child- and elderly-care.
Amendment 69 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 10
Recital 10
(10) Despite the existing Union legislation aimed at preventing and combating sex discrimination, the Council recommendations aimed specifically at increasing the presence of women in economic decision-making and Union- level actions encouraging self-regulation, women continue to be strongly outnumbered by men in the highest decision-making bodies of companies throughout the Union. The same is also true of some EU institutions and agencies, such as the European Central Bank, which should be setting an example by representing all citizens. It will be recalled that, during the appointment of a new member of the ECB Executive Board in late 2012, the Heads of State and Government refused to implement a minimum of gender equality, in contravention of Article 2 of the Treaty, despite the negative opinion of the European Parliament. In the private sector and especially in listed companies this gender imbalance is particularly significant and acute. The Commission's key indicator of gender representation on corporate boards shows that the proportion of women involved in top-level business decision- making remains very low. In January 2012, women occupied on average just 13.7 per cent of board seats in the largest publicly listed companies in Member States. Among non-executive directors only 15 per cent were women.
Amendment 86 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 16
Recital 16
(16) The Union should therefore aim to increase the presence of women on company boards, in order both to boost economic growth and the competitiveness of European companies and to achieve effective gender equality on the labour market. This aim should be pursued through minimum requirements on positive action in the form of binding measures aiming at attaining a quantitative objective for the gender composition of boards of listed companies, in the view of the fact that Member States and other countries which have chosen this or a similar method have achieved the best results in reducing the under-representation of women in economic decision-making positions. At the same time, Member States are strongly recommended to raise businesses’ awareness of gender equality by policies involving employees' organisations, so that women at all levels of society may benefit from it.
Amendment 93 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 17 b (new)
Recital 17 b (new)
(17b) Owing to their high visibility, the institutions and agencies of the EU should set an example by putting in place, by January 2018, policies for a better gender balance. To enhance representativeness, particular attention needs to be given to recruitment policies for senior management positions. Lists of candidates respecting gender equality should be put forward for each senior management post. The Member States should also be encouraged to appoint women as governors of the national central banks (NCBs) in order to achieve a gender balance in the Governing Council and the General Council of the ECB and on the General Board of the ESRB. Starting [two years after the adoption of this directive] the EU institutions and agencies should publish an annual report setting out their efforts to that end.
Amendment 108 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 22 a (new)
Recital 22 a (new)
(22a) In order to include a broader set of perspectives and experiences in economic decision making, listed companies should be encouraged to take into account not just gender equality but also diversity as regards competence, age, geographical provenance, ethnicity, and educational and professional background in their recruitment policies.
Amendment 148 #
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 published in the annual report and on the company’s website and, where the company in question has not met the objectiveindividually set targets, it should include a description of the measures that it has taken so far and intends to take in the future in order to meet the objectiveose targets.
Amendment 156 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 39
Recital 39
(39) In accordance with the principle of proportionality, the objective to be met by listed companies should be limited in time and remain in force only until sustainable progress has been achieved in the gender composition of boards. For that reason, the Commission should regularly review the application of this Directive and report to the European Parliament and the Council at two-yearly intervals, starting no later than 31 December 2021. The Directive is due to expire on 31 December 2028. The Commission should assess, in its review, if there is a need to extend the duration of the Directive beyond that period.
Amendment 160 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 1 – paragraph 1
Article 1 – paragraph 1
This Directive lays down measures to ensure a more balanced representation of men and women among the non-executive directors of listed companies by establishing binding measures aimed at accelerated progress towards gender balance while allowing companies sufficient time to make the necessary arrangements.
Amendment 204 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 4 – paragraph 7
Article 4 – paragraph 7
7. Member States may provide that the objective laid down in paragraph 1 is met where listed companies can show that members of the under-represented sex hold at least one third of all director positions, irrespective of whether they are executive or non-executive. Such companies shall, however, continue to set out in their annual reports and on their websites the gender balance on their boards and their policies in this area, in accordance with Article 5(2) of this directive.
Amendment 208 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 5 – paragraph 1
Article 5 – paragraph 1
1. Member States shall ensure that listed companies undertake individual commitments regarding gender-balanced representation of both sexes among executive directors to be achieved at the latest by 1 January 2020, or, in case of listed companies which are public undertakings, by 1 January 2018. Member States shall ensure that the quota system is accompanied by a genuine gender equality policy at all levels of society, including for example training schemes, career development mentoring programmes, more flexible working hours, flexible parental leave arrangements, etc.
Amendment 215 #
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 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 commitmentsDoes not affect English version. Linguistic correction to French.
Amendment 254 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 9 – paragraph 4
Article 9 – paragraph 4
4. In its report, the Commission shall assess whether, in the light of developments in the representation of men and women in the boards of listed companies and at different levels of decision-making throughout the economy and taking into account whether the progress made is sufficiently sustainable, there is a need to extend the duration of this Directive beyond the date specified in Article 10(2) or to amend it. It shall also assess the need to extend the scope of this directive to non-listed companies where this is justified by their size and impact on the market (number of staff, turnover, balance-sheet total, etc.). An appropriate threshold must be set above which the directive will apply.