February 17th, CBS (Statistics Netherlands) published the Emancipation Monitor 2010. There is some positive news to tell. Labour participation and economic independence of women increase in spite of crisis. Labour participation of women rose from 54 percent in 2005 to 60 percent in 2009. New figures show this remained stable at 60 percent in 2010.

These are just some of the conclusions of the Emancipation monitor 2010 published jointly by Statistics Netherlands and the Netherlands Institute for Social Research (SCP) officially presented to the Minister responsible for emancipation policy, Marja van Bijsterveldt.

In the period 2001-2005 net labour participation (the percentage of people with a job of at least twelve hours a week) of women aged 15 to 64 years remained about the same. After that it rose substantially: from 54 percent in 2005 to 60 percent in 2009. The newest figures (which are not in the Emancipation monitor) show that the rate remains at 60 percent in 2010, too. The target of 65 percent, as set in the policy document Meer kansen voor vrouwen (More opportunities for women) in 2007 has therefore not been realised. The labour participation of men fell by 2 percent points during the financial crisis, to 74 percent in 2010.

For more information:
- Press release in English: http://bit.ly/CBSmonitor2010
- Summary of the Emancipation Monitor: Summary Emancipation Monitor 2010 in English

The complete text of the Emancipation Monitor is available via www.cbs.nl and Dutch bookstores.

Almost 12% of board members is female

Women make up 11.7% of boards at the top 3001 European companies up from 9.7% in 2008 and 8.5% in 2006, the best progress since first BoardMonitor. Of a total 4,875 board seats, women occupy 571. As a result of quota legislation2 Norway remains at the top of the table in having 37.9% women on boards. Portugal, Italy, Greece, Spain, Belgium and France have more than doubled the number of women on boards; the introduction of Corporate Governance Codes together with equal access legislations currently under discussion in a few countries is having a significant impact, as well as increased shareholder and media scrutiny of board membership.

Download the presentation here
Download the press release here
BoardWomen Monitor 2010 in the media
Article in the Financial Times

For press coverage in The Netherlands, please access:

Managersonline.nl

Please take a few minutes to read Tara Patel’s (Bloomberg) article, referencing our fellow member Miriam Garnier of the Paris City Network.

The article starts as follows:

“A group of women wearing fake beards stormed the podium at Veolia Environnement’s crowded shareholders’ meeting in Paris last month, challenging Chairman Henri Proglio over the gender makeup of his overwhelmingly male board. “Is it really wise to allow women to define the strategy of a company, a task requiring intelligence, an ability to react, and coolheadedness?” asked a disguised member of the feminist advocacy group La Barbe, or “The Beard.” She taunted the French water utility for having only one woman on its 17-member board.”

The bottom line: French boardrooms have long been a male domain. A proposal requiring that at least 40 percent of directors be women could change that.

Read the full article by clicking here.