Corporate Governance (Gender Balance) Bill 2021
Corporate Governance (Gender Balance) Bill 2021
A new bill was introduced to the Dail late last year proposing to amend the Companies Act 2014 (No.38) in order to make provision for the regulation of gender balance on the boards and governing councils of corporate bodies and related matters
The Irish Corporate Governance (Gender Balance) Bill 2021
Proposals in the Bill include a mandatory 33% of a company’s board must be female after the first year of enactment, rising to 40% after 36 x months.
These proposed targets reflect the current trends in Diversity and Inclusion that we are seeing in Lionheart and across the Board.
Whats interesting about the Bill, which is due to be debated in the Dáil, is that it proposes to apply the requirements to corporate bodies including:
limited and unlimited companies,
charities,
funds (including UCITS), and
all state sponsored bodies and their subsidiaries.
Exemptions from the requirements will apply to:
corporate body that has an annual turnover of less than €750,000 or that employs fewer than 20 employees, or both.
A number of other categories
The Bill proposes a statutory declaration on a comply or explain basis to be made by the chairperson of the governing body, e.g., board, in the Annual Return or annual financial statements that the the gender balance requirements have been complied with.
Lionheart have been successfully providing Diversity, Equality and Inclusion CPD Training modules for Boards and organisations for the last number of years and enquiries can be made to admin@lionheart.ie