Share of women on listed companies' boards rises to 22.1%, but number remains unchanged

The share of women on the management and supervisory boards of companies listed on the regulated market of the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) rose from 21.4% to 22.1% in the first seven months of the year, but the actual number of women remained unchanged at 82, according to the independent study "The Law That Is Not Applied", conducted by CONAF President Cristina Chiriac.The study examined all 85 companies listed on the regulated market, reconstructing the composition of each board on the basis of reports filed with the Bucharest Stock Exchange, general shareholders' meeting resolutions and annual reports.As of Dec. 31, 2025, there were 383 board seats across 75 boards, of which 82 were held by women, representing 21.4%. By July 30, 2026, the total number of board seats had fallen to 371, while the number of women remained at 82, increasing their share to 22.1%. Six boards gained one female member each, while six others lost one.According to the study, 25 boards have no women at all, while 29 have only one female member. Companies whose boards consist entirely of men employ a combined total of 12,006 people. Among Romanian companies subject to the law, women account for 20.3% of board members. By comparison, women held 33.6% of board seats at the largest listed companies in the European Union in October 2025.Law No. 11/2025, which transposes Directive (EU) 2022/2381, introduced minimum representation targets for the underrepresented gender on the boards of listed companies falling within its scope, with a compliance deadline of June 30, 2026.Under Law No. 24/2017, listed companies must submit annual information to the Financial Supervisory Authority (ASF) by July 15 on the gender composition of their boards, while the ASF is required to publish a list of companies that have met the targets. The study notes that, as of July 30, 2026, such a list could not be found on the authority's website.The corporate governance monitoring report published by the Bucharest Stock Exchange on June 30, 2026, covering 78 companies, also does not present the aggregate share of women on management or supervisory boards, nor the number of companies that have achieved the targets introduced by Law No. 11/2025."The opinion was a snapshot. The snapshot looked good: the law existed, the target was set, and the reporting obligation had been published. But meeting the OECD targets does not end with a snapshot. Romania will have to show what rules it has adopted and what results they have produced. There is another issue. The problem is not only the fragmentation of information but also its accessibility. Reporting in English differs from one issuer to another, and there is no centralised database where a foreign investor can see the situation across the entire regulated market," Cristina Chiriac said in a press release.Regarding the differences between state-controlled and privately owned companies, the study found that the ten companies controlled by the Romanian state meet the target in 60% of cases, compared with 29.2% among private companies subject to the same law. None of the boards of the state-controlled companies analysed consists exclusively of men."There is a lot of discussion about targets, but very little about how they are achieved or what sanctions apply if they are not. Look at the study. It shows a difference that deserves an explanation. Where there is additional oversight, compliance is twice as high. And that leaves the question the state itself should be asking," the CONAF president said.According to the study, based on the composition of boards as of July 30, full compliance would require 43 appointments or changes to board composition across 33 companies. In 23 of those companies, only one additional appointment would be needed, while some changes could occur naturally as current mandates expire and new selection procedures are completed.Romania has completed evaluations in 24 of the 25 OECD committees involved in its accession process, and obtained the corporate governance opinion during the April 7-8, 2025 session in Paris. At that time, Law No. 11/2025 had been in force for about three weeks, while the deadline for meeting its targets was June 30, 2026.The study "The Law That Is Not Applied" covers all 85 companies listed on the regulated market of the Bucharest Stock Exchange, with data collected for two reference dates - Dec. 31, 2025, and July 30, 2026. The sources used were reports filed by issuers with the Bucharest Stock Exchange, general shareholders' meeting resolutions and annual reports.