Female executive quotas dismissed as ‘patronising’

The prospect of compulsory Europe-wide quotas to force women on to company boards was condemned as “patronising” yesterday.

Conservative MEP Marina Yannakoudakis said women had to get top jobs on merit alone. She said: “In the UK, 100 women were appointed to FTSE-100 and FTSE-250 boards last year, and FTSE-100 boards currently have 15.2 per cent female representation. I agree that there is still a long way to go, but these women were selected because they were the best people for the job.

“Had they made it to the top by virtue of quotas it would have been nothing short of patronising.”

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Earlier European justice commissioner Viviane Reding unveiled a survey showing widespread public support for quotas to redress the boardroom imbalance between the sexes. She said she was against compulsory quotas but added that companies had failed to do much in the last 12 months to improve the situation of female executives voluntarily.

“I always make clear that I am not fond of quotas but I very much like what quotas do, and maybe it is necessary to do what quotas do,” she said.

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