Women's quotas arrive in Italy. The reform concerns the administrative and control bodies of companies listed on the stock exchange, therefore the board of directors, boards of statutory auditors and supervisory boards. The Chamber sends the law to the Quirinale for presidential signature and publication in the Gazette in the wake of rare bipartisan support: 438 votes in favour, 27 against and 64 abstentions. The only group expressly opposed to quotas were the Radicals.
Companies will have to reserve at least a third of their top management for women. In the event of non-compliance, Consob will send a warning and, if it is not accepted within four months, the sanctions will be triggered. From 100 thousand up to a maximum of one million euros, according to criteria and methods that will be established by Consob. At that point, if the company does not implement the quotas within three months, the forfeiture of Board members will apply. The company statutes will have to regulate the formation of lists and cases of replacement of members during their mandate.
The legislation will not be effective immediately. It will only apply to Councils that will be renewed one year after the entry into force of the law, and with a lower quota, equal to 20%. It will rise to 33% starting from subsequent renewals. The reform will also involve publicly controlled companies, which will be subject to a ministerial regulation to define the implementation of quotas.
Female representation on boards has recently been regulated in many European countries, from Scandinavia to Spain, via France, where the gender quota will be 40% at full capacity. Together with Portugal, Italy is currently bringing up the rear of Western Europe, as regards the presence of women on boards. A paltry 5% compared to 26% in Finland and Sweden.
