EU wants direct action to get women into boardrooms

Article here. Excerpt:

'BRUSSELS, Nov 12 (Reuters) - The European Commission wants to make companies favour female non-executive board candidates where they are equally qualified so as to raise the proportion of women in boardrooms to 40 percent, EU sources said on Tuesday.

One source, who declined to be named, said the commission plan did not set a binding EU quota for all member states but rather set an "objective" of having 40 percent women by 2020 - suggesting that an earlier plan for a strict 2020 deadline had been dropped.

But another EU source, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said the preference rule was "tied to the legally binding objective of 40 percent by 2020, which means that if by 2020 companies have not reached 40 percent and have not been appointing women instead of men, then they will also face sanctions".'