Only one in four Spanish companies, 24%, achieves that at least 40% of the seats on its board of directors are occupied by women, the threshold set as an objective by the Equality Law and which, according to Informa D&B, "has practically not evolved" in recent years.
This stagnation contrasts with the fact that "women represent approximately 55% of higher education graduates in business, administration, and law," emphasizes the firm's Director of Studies, Nathalie Gianese.
In the case of new companies created in 2025, the proportion is very similar, at 23.5%, which represents a slight decrease compared to 23.8% of the previous year, although it remains 0.8 points above the level recorded in 2021.
If only the companies affected by Article 75 of the Equality Law (Organic Law 3/2007, for the effective equality of women and men) are analyzed, the 40% threshold of female presence on boards is only reached in 14% of the entities.
Among the companies obliged to design and implement equality plans, as established by article 45 of the same regulation, the compliance percentage stands at 15%. They are, furthermore, those that have advanced the most since 2013, with an accumulated improvement of 5.38 points, according to the study "Presence of women in Spanish companies".
Paradoxically, the companies that are not subject to any of these two legal precepts are the ones that show a greater degree of compliance: 25% reaches 40% of female directors, although this figure has fallen back a little more than one point compared to 2013.
Within the group of 2,400 public interest companies to which Organic Law 2/2024 on parity representation refers, only 19% reaches that minimum of 40% of women on the boards of directors.
Since the entry into force of the Equality Law, the progress towards the goal of 40% female presence on boards, set in article 75 without contemplating a sanctioning regime, has been "very reduced", concludes Informa.
19% of women at the head of the presidency
When breaking down by type of responsibility, women hold the presidency in 18.9% of companies, general management in 14.5%, and management positions overall in 21.5%.
The highest female representation is concentrated in advertising management, with almost 34.7%, in human resources management, with 33.9%, and in quality management, with 31%. On the opposite side, the lowest rates are observed in technical management, with 10.7%, in production management, with 11.4%, and in the already mentioned general management.
"63% of analyzed Spanish companies do not have female presence in management positions, a percentage that has been maintained for the last seven years. Although it is slightly higher than last year, it is almost 10 points below the 73% of 2010", details Informa.
Among companies with fewer than 50 people on staff, 65% have no women in management positions, compared to 44% of organizations with more than 100 employees.
Article 75 of the Equality Law regulates the presence of women on the boards of directors of commercial companies: "Companies obliged to present non-abbreviated profit and loss accounts shall endeavor to include in their board of directors a number of women that allows for achieving a balanced presence of women and men within a period of eight years from the entry into force of this Law."
"What is provided in the preceding paragraph will be taken into account for the appointments that are made as the mandate of the counselors designated before the entry into force of this law expires," adds the legal text.
On the other hand, Article 45 refers to the obligation to draw up and implement equality plans: in companies with 50 or more workers, the required equality measures "must be aimed at the drawing up and implementation of an equality plan" which will have to be "subject to negotiation in the manner determined by labor legislation", among other provisions.