Portuguese President approves gender-quota law
The goal is to have a balanced representation of women and men in administrative and supervisory boards of the business public sector and in companies listed in the Stock Market.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa gave the green light to the gender quotas law. Even if it could be argued that there is an “excessive State volunteerism and intervention”, the new regime follows the footsteps taken by other European Union countries, resulting in a “larger gender balance”, is stated in a note published in the Presidency’s website.
“The new legal regime corresponds to measures implemented in several other European Union countries and have presented significant results in a larger gender balance in companies’ management bodies. This new law also translates the President of the Portuguese Republic’s mindset, which is why — even if it can be argued that there could be an excessive State volunteerism and intervention and that there could be juridical technical objections as for precepts remissions — the President promulgated the Parliament’s diploma which approves the regime of balanced representation of women and men in administrative and supervisory boards of the business public sector and in companies listed in the Stock Market“, the note discloses.
With this new diploma, public sector companies should have at least one third of women in their administrative and supervisory bodies starting on January 1, 2018. In listed companies in the Stock Market, this proportion “cannot be lower than 20%” after the first elective general assembly on January 1, 2018, and one third (33.3%) from January 2020 onward.
The proposal was voted favorably in Parliament on 23rd of June by the Socialist Party, the Left Block and six deputies from the Social Centre Party – People’s Party, among which Assunção Cristas, its leader.
