Clifford Chance

The 1) statutory diversity quotas for supervisory boards of Dutch companies with a listing in the Netherlands, and 2) requirements on diversity target setting and related reporting for so-called 'large' NVs and BVs have become effective per 1 January 2022.

With the enactment per 1 January 2022 of the new rules aimed at enhancing gender diversity for (top) management of Dutch entities, more than 5,000 companies in the Netherlands are confronted with diversity-related new requirements:

Dutch companies with a listing in the Netherlands should, in addition to the requirements that apply to large companies (if applicable), be aware that new appointments to their supervisory boards should contribute to a better gender balance within this board and may otherwise be void. The statutory diversity quota amounts to at least one-third of supervisory board members being men and one-third being women. The actual percentage will depend on the size of the supervisory board.

Large NVs and BVs (which may include Dutch listed companies) will need to:

In 2022:

• define their 'subtop';
• formulate target numbers for gender diversity of the management and supervisory boards, and the subtop;
• draft an action plan for achieving the gender diversity target numbers

In 2023:

• report on targets, actions taken and progress made (both in the management report (bestuursverslag) and towards the SER)