Gender: Only one in ten board members of top companies are women, finds OECD

Women are still under-represented in top corporate jobs, despite efforts in many countries to promote their participation on boards, according to new OECD data. The OECD’s new Gender Browser reveals that women occupied only one in ten board seats in listed companies in OECD countries in 2009, the most recent year for which comparable data are available. This percentage varies greatly across countries: it is highest in Norway, at close to 40%, as a result of a mandatory quota introduced in 2006. The European Union is also due to announce today new measures to improve gender balance in company boards. In Sweden, France, Slovak Republic and Finland the proportion of women on boards is between 15% and 20%, while in Germany, Japan and the Netherlands, it is less than 5%. See full Press Release.