The number of women serving on the boards of directors of Spanish-listed companies is steadily increasing, and their representation has surpassed the 30% threshold for the first time. This is despite the gradual reduction in the overall number of board seats. The current number of female directors is 390, which is 38 more than the previous year. This represents an increase of 3.65 percentage points, bringing the total percentage of female directors to 32.37% out of the total of 1,205 board members.
Although the incorporation rate has tripled compared to the rate recorded in 2018, it is still insufficient to meet the National Securities Market Commission’s recommendation of achieving 40% by 2022. If the current growth rate is maintained, this target percentage will not be reached until 2025.
This morning, the CEO of ATREVIA Spain, Asuncion Soriano, and IESE professor Nuria Chinchilla, holder of the Carmina Roca and Rafael Pich-Aguilera Chair of Women and Leadership, presented the latest edition of the Report on Women on the Boards of the IBEX 35 and the VI Radiography of the Continuous Market, which is prepared annually by ATREVIA and IESE.
According to Asun Soriano, the CEO of ATREVIA, “we are witnessing a significant awareness among Spanish companies about the need to balance their boards. It is currently inconsistent for a company to overlook diversity, and this fact is increasingly being recognized, although there is still work to be done.”
Nuria Chinchilla from IESE emphasized that “it is undoubtedly the time to invest in a plural and balanced composition of boards and organizations in general.” According to her, the future is determined by three indispensable “F´s”: “Family, Flexibility, and Femininity.” These concepts are linked “not only to women but also to the overall idea of achieving a fairer and more responsible society,” as Soriano pointed out.
The report covers 119 companies this year and reveals that almost 27% of them, or 32 companies, met the recommended parity target of 40% set by the CNMV last year. Two companies, Línea Directa (57.14%) and Cellnex (54.54%), have more women than men on their boards, while five other companies (Redeia, Grenergy, Realia, Prim, and Libertas 7) have achieved a 50% balance. Although 18 out of the 35 IBEX 35 companies have already met the suggested quota, 49% of listed companies (17 in total) are still falling short. These companies, listed from lowest to highest parity quota, are Fluidra, Sacyr, Naturgygy, ACS, Indra, ArcelorMittal, Acciona, Telefónica, Solaria, Repsol, Grifols, Ferrovial, Banco Sabadell, Meliá Hotels, Colonial, Acerinox, and Merlin. On the other hand, seven companies have surpassed 45% female representation: Inditex, IAG, Bankinter, Amadeus, Acciona Energía, Redeia, and Cellnex.
The analysis of the continuous market revealed that out of the 84 companies examined, only 14 managed to meet the recommended threshold of 40%. Although eleven companies exceeded this threshold, only five achieved a balance of 50% or more on their board of directors. Línea Directa stood out among these, with an impressive 57,14% representation of women on its board, making it the company with the highest proportion of female directors among all those listed.
The study also uncovered that six companies in the continuous market still do not have any female directors (all IBEX 35 companies have at least two). However, this number has decreased by three from the previous year. In the IBEX 35, female representation on boards is at 37.47%, a percentage that is close, but falls short of meeting, the CNMV’s recommended target of 40% by 2022. Nevertheless, there has been a 3.53 percentage point increase in the number of women on the boards of companies in the selective index compared to the previous year.
Regarding the analysis of the female directors’ type, independent female directors make up 69.74% of the total number of directors, showing a slight decrease of 1.48 percentage points compared to 2021. Executive directors represent a smaller percentage, accounting for 2.82% compared to almost 4% in the previous year. On the other hand, dominical and external women account for 23.85% and 3.59%, respectively, representing an increase of just over 1 point.
To put things into perspective, women’s representation on listed company boards has significantly increased by nearly 17 percentage points since 2015 when the CNMV established a goal of reaching 30% parity by 2020. However, now that the bar has been raised to 40% by 2022, only 32 listed companies, including those in the IBEX 35, have achieved this target, accounting for just 26.89% of companies, in contrast to 48% who met the previous year’s target of 30% female representation.
According to the study, if Spanish listed companies continue to progress at their current rate from 2021 to 2022, they will achieve the target of 40% female representation on boards by the end of 2025. This comes just in time for the June 2026 deadline set by the latest European directive, known as Women on Boards, which mandates that 40% of non-executive directors in large listed companies must be women.
Sectors
The report also provides an analysis of the sectors. Among all the companies in the continuous market, two sectors are nearing the new target of 40% female representation: Oil & Energy (39.26%) and Financial Services (38%), followed closely by Technology and Telecommunications (36.36%). In the IBEX 35, financial companies are leading the way with an average of almost six women directors (5.71), followed by Oil & Energy (5.43) and other sectors that, for the first time, have reached an average of five women directors. These include Consumer Services and Technology and Telecommunications, both with an average of five women directors.
The Real Estate Services sector (25.76%) and the Industry and Construction sector (28.44%) top the list of companies that are least inclined to have women on their boards. Although the Real Estate Services sector has increased its female representation by 2.86 percentage points and has an average of 2.26 women on their boards, the Industry and Construction sector has seen a 4.54 percentage point rise in women’s presence. Nevertheless, it falls short of the average of 3, at 2.94.
Companies driving change and demonstrating their commitment
During the six years of analyzing and evaluating all the companies in the continuous market, many listed companies, particularly those belonging to the IBEX 35, have demonstrated an improvement in the number of women serving on their boards.
The following companies have demonstrated significant effort towards gender parity and inclusion of female directors since 2018, among the continuous market companies: Prim, increasing from one to five female directors (50%), Applus, increasing from one to four (44.44%), Deoleo and Audax Renovables, both progressing from having no women on their boards to two female directors (33.33%), and Amper, moving from zero to three female directors (30%).
On the other hand, some companies have demonstrated regularity and commitment in their efforts to achieve equal representation on their boards over the past four years. These include Cellnex, which has increased from four to six female directors (54.54%); Redeia, which has progressed from five to six female directors, achieving 50% gender parity; Realia, which, despite losing one female director, maintains 50% female representation; Nicolás Correa, which retains three female directors and a 42.86% share, and Unicaja Banco, which has gained one female director and now stands at 40%.
The highest executive bodies of the IBEX 35 are lacking in female representation
While the representation of women on the boards of directors of the selective index is increasing every year, their representation in the top executive positions of the companies remains minimal. Currently, only three women hold chairmanships, with two as non-executive chairwomen (Beatriz Corredor at Redeia and Marta Ortega at Inditex), one as an executive chairwoman (Ana Patricia Botín at Santander), and one as CEO (María Dolores Dancausa at Bankinter).
Men hold 91.43% of the chairmanships in the IBEX-35 (32) compared to only 8.57% held by women (3). The selective index also has 31 CEOs, with only one woman holding that position.
International female directors are gaining a greater presence in the IBEX 35, now accounting for one in four directors.
Currently, 42 international female directors are serving on the boards of the 35 most influential companies in the country. This is an increase of six directors compared to 2021. Additionally, these international female directors now represent 25.77% of the total number of female directors.
The majority of international female directors on the boards of the IBEX 35 (47.62%) are from Europe, with an increasing number from the United Kingdom (19.05%), where there are currently eight directors. In contrast, the influence of American and Canadian directors (four total) has decreased from 19.4% in 2021 to 9.52%. However, Latin American female directors (15) have increased their presence on the boards of the IBEX 35, now accounting for 35.71% compared to 19.4% the previous year.
Women gain positions of responsibility on IBEX 35 committees
While the chairmanships of the different committees on the boards of directors of IBEX 35 companies are still largely held by men, the presence of women in these leadership positions is making notable progress, particularly in tasks of great importance for the companies.
Currently, women chair a total of 88 committees within the IBEX 35 companies, representing 47.06% of the total (127), a significant increase from 37.5% in 2021. Additionally, the representation of women on IBEX 35 committees has increased to 40.36%, which is more than four percentage points higher than the 36.3% representation recorded in the previous year.
Women are well represented as chairpersons in key areas of power such as Sustainability, Environment, Corporate Governance, and Remuneration and Nominations. In fact, women hold a higher percentage of chairmanship in these areas than men, with 60.53%, 58.82%, and 51.52%, respectively.
The areas of Risk and Compliance (45%) and Innovation, Technology, and Security (42.86%) also have a significant number of women leading their committees. Moreover, the Audit and Control category has a particularly high percentage of female chairpersons at 37.5%. However, the percentage of female leadership in the executive or delegated committees is less than 10%, with only 6.66%. This points to a clear lack of female representation and leadership in these bodies.
Although women hold the majority of chairperson positions in the Sustainability, Environment, and Corporate Governance category, their overall participation in this area is second only to that of Risk and Compliance, with 45.09% and 45.26%, respectively.
On the other hand, women hold only 20.88% of the positions in the executive and delegate committees, and out of 15 committees, only one has a woman as chairperson.
Spain ranks above the average of the 27 EU countries in terms of gender parity, and if countries with mandatory quotas were excluded, it would be in the third position.
Efforts to improve gender diversity on the boards of IBEX 35 companies are showing positive results. Compared to the other 27 countries of the European Union, the major Spanish-listed companies rank eleventh. If we exclude the six countries with mandatory quotas, such as France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, and Germany, Spain would rise to third position, trailing only Denmark (40.8%) and Finland (36.1%).
