MEP backs controversial quotas for women

Chris Davies, Rochdale Liberal Democrat MEP

Rochdale Lib Dem MEP Chris Davies has voted in favour of forcing large companies to have more women directors on their boards.

A proposed new EU law backed by the European Parliament would require public companies employing more than 250 people to have at least 40% of their non-executive Directors from each gender.

The proposals will now be considered by EU governments, and the UK has already declared its opposition.

Chris Davies said that although he disliked setting quotas they could be necessary to bring about change and ensure that the voice of women was heard. He said: "Fewer than one-fifth of non-executive directors in Britain are women. The Old Boy's Club is working all too well in its own interest, but countries like Sweden have shown that companies can thrive when women are given a stronger voice.

“The banking crisis showed us what happens when the people running our economy are drawn from a tiny pool of men who all know each other and protect each others' backs.”

The MEP said that he would have preferred the proposal to have come from the UK Government rather than from Brussels, but that too few national parliaments across Europe had raised an objection.

Professor Jo Crotty is a Liberal Democrat candidate for the European Parliament in the 2014 elections and holds the Chair of Strategy and Corporate Social Responsibility at Salford Business School. She said: “Persuasion has been tried for decades and simply isn’t working. We need this legislation to change the culture of big business and make sure we are using all of the talent in our workforce.

“You can’t build a stronger economy if only half of the population gets considered for the top jobs at FTSE 100 companies.

“Conservative MEPs will find excuses to protect their friends on company boards but the simple fact is that they voted against women today.”