At present, women occupy 8.5% of the seats on company boards, about one in 12. According to one survey, 89% of companies think a mix of men and women on the board would be "enriching" for the firm. At the same time, however, 81% are opposed to quotas. Two-thirds of small- and medium-sized companies (SME) already have one or more women on their boards, and a woman chairs at about one company in four.

Government enterprises like bpost and Belgacom will come into line next year, before the private sector: "It's best if the government sets a good example," said Bruno Tuybens, a socialist member of the committee. Large- and medium-sized companies will be allowed a transition period of five years. If by the sixth year one-third of the board is not composed of women, any subsequent nomination will be considered void. And if the situation is not remedied by the following year, every decision of the unlawfully composed board will also be void. For small businesses, the transition period lasts seven years. Companies with no public shares are not affected.

During the transition periods, all companies are required to detail efforts made towards the legal goal in their annual reports. "There's more than enough time for businesses to come into line," said Tuybens. "If companies still can't meet the legal requirements after the transition period, we have to be tough."

"Insulting"
N-VA member of parliament Zuhal Demir described the quota as "insulting": "A quota gives the impression that we can't make our own way," she said. "Clearly we need help from above." CD&V counterpart Leen Dierick disagreed: "A quota is the only way to tackle the problem of the under-representation of women," she said.

Employers' federation VBO said the new measure demonstrated a lack of confidence in the business world. The VOB has called on its members to meet the 30% target voluntarily within seven years but considers a law on quotas to be too rigid.

Quotas for women directors already exist in France, Spain and Norway, and are under discussion in the Netherlands, Italy and Germany, where Chancellor Angela Merkel has given businesses a last chance to remedy what she described as "a real scandal" before legal quotas are imposed.

At EU level, too, an ultimatum is in force: Commissioner for fundamental rights Viviane Reding has promised quotas if there is no substantial improvement in the situation by 2012. Last week she invited companies to sign a pledge to reach a target of 30% women by 2015, and 40% by 2020, with signatories to be made public on the EU website.

Pictured: Dominique Leroy, CEO of Unilever Belgium, one of the few top female executives in the country