“Women on Boards” enters into force

Poland is introducing legislation implementing the EU “Women on Boards” Directive, aimed at improving gender balance in the governing bodies of large listed companies. The new regulations are intended to promote equal opportunities for women and men in top management positions and ensure transparent and non-discriminatory recruitment processes. The Act will enter into force 14 days after its publication in the Journal of Laws. The key measures introduced by the Act include:

• gender representation target – large listed companies will be required to ensure that the underrepresented sex holds a number of positions as close as possible to 33% of all seats on management boards and supervisory boards combined;
• transparent recruitment criteria – companies will be required to establish clear, objective, and non-discriminatory selection criteria before the recruitment process begins. Where candidates have equal qualifications, preference will be given to a candidate belonging to the underrepresented sex;
• gender balance policy – shareholders’ meetings will be required to adopt and publish a gender balance policy, including measures supporting career development and the company’s human resources strategy;
• protection of candidates’ rights – individuals, whose rights have been infringed during the recruitment process, will be entitled to seek compensation before a court. In certain cases, the burden of proving the absence of discrimination will rest with the company.