Czech Republic Plans to Legislatively Increase the Number of Women in the Management of Large Companies by 33%

The Czech government has introduced a new legislative proposal aimed at ensuring gender balance in the management of large businesses in the country. The document, published on the website of the Czech Republic government, stipulates that women should constitute at least one-third of leadership positions in major companies, as reported by Expats.cz.

Specifically, the proposed law mandates that companies with over 250 employees and an annual turnover exceeding 50 million euros or assets over 43 million euros must meet certain requirements regarding gender representation. They should have at least 40% women on supervisory boards and a minimum of 33% women in executive and directorial boards.

The authors of the new legislative proposal argue that the existing legal framework in the Czech Republic hinders achieving gender equality and does not encourage women to take on leadership roles. They believe that a mandatory approach to gender balance, as seen in other EU countries, will contribute to business development. They refer to studies linking increased representation of women with improved productivity, success, and competitiveness of companies.

Among other provisions, the new proposal also introduces a transparent process for selecting members of boards in large companies, emphasizing clear and unambiguous criteria for this procedure.

It is expected that the new legislation will impact the five largest companies and banks in the Czech Republic, including the state energy company ČEZ, the banks Komerční banka and Moneta Money Bank, tobacco company Philip Morris Czech Republic, and Czech non-alcoholic beverage manufacturer Kofola.

Currently, women hold 21% of leadership positions in major Czech companies, whereas the EU average is 32.2%. This places the Czech Republic 20th out of 27 EU member countries in terms of gender equality in corporate governance. The adoption of the new law would bring the Czech Republic in line with the EU average for women's representation in the leadership of major companies.

It's worth noting that The Gaze reported on Czech President Petr Pavel expressing his stance on the country's need to transition to the euro. He emphasized the necessity of specific steps that, in his opinion, would ultimately lead the Czech Republic to join the Eurozone.