EU Directive on Women on Boards: Which countries have implemented?

The Gender Balance on Corporate Boards Directive, known as the “Women on Boards” directive, entered into application at the end of 2024, with the aim of achieving more balanced gender representation on the boards of listed companies across all EU member states. It sets a target for large EU listed companies of 40% of the underrepresented sex among non-executive directors, and 33% across all directors. Member states had until 28 December 2024 to transpose the Directive, and companies were required to meet the targets by 30 June 2026.

Greece falls into the “partially transposed” category. Law 5178/2025, published in Government Gazette A’ 22/14.02.2025, was enacted and took effect on 14 February 2025, aligning Greek corporate governance rules with the Directive’s objectives on gender balance at board level. The law establishes the applicable obligations under Greek law from the Directive’s in-force date of 30 June 2026, providing the legislative basis for board-level gender balance rules consistent with EU standards.

The Greek law goes beyond listed companies, also covering non-listed public limited companies that meet certain size criteria, as well as public enterprises and organisations falling within the relevant public sector framework. For listed companies specifically, it introduces mandatory reporting obligations, including the preparation and publication of an annual compliance report on gender balance policies and board selection procedures, and provides for administrative sanctions in cases of non-compliance. It also requires transparent and objective board member selection processes, giving candidates the right to request justification for selection decisions, with the burden of proving the objectivity and non-discriminatory nature of the process resting on the company.

Read the full article and the country-by-country tracker here