Women on Boards: How 10 Years Changed Everything

Share of board seats held by women in major publicly listed companies across 12 jurisdictions, 2014 versus 2025. Countries mandating gender quotas are marked with an asterisk.

Source: MSCI ESG Research, Women on Boards and Beyond, annual reports (2014–2025); Deloitte Global Boardroom Program, Women in the Boardroom, multiple editions. Analysis: Prof. Marco Ventoruzzo (Bocconi University). Visualisation: ECGI.
* Countries mandating gender quotas (Spain in 2024). Country-level figures reflect share of board seats held by women in major publicly listed companies; data compiled across sources and may vary marginally by methodology.

This visualisation shows two views of the same data. The first tab shows a paired bar chart comparing the percentage of board seats held by women in 2014 and 2025 for 12 countries. The second tab shows a dumbbell chart of the same data ordered by percentage point improvement. A full data table is available below each chart. Countries with binding gender quotas are marked with an asterisk.

Women as percentage of board seats, 2014 and 2025
Paired horizontal bar chart showing percentage of board seats held by women in 2014 (light pink) and 2025 (dark pink) for 12 countries, ordered from lowest to highest 2025 share. Japan: 3% in 2014, 14% in 2025. China: 9% in 2014, 14% in 2025. Brazil: 6% in 2014, 16% in 2025. India: 7% in 2014, 19% in 2025. Spain (quota country): 11% in 2014, 26% in 2025. Netherlands (quota country): 10% in 2014, 28% in 2025. Canada: 13% in 2014, 28% in 2025. United States: 16% in 2014, 34% in 2025. Germany (quota country): 11% in 2014, 35% in 2025. Belgium (quota country): 16% in 2014, 38% in 2025. Italy (quota country): 12% in 2014, 40% in 2025. France (quota country): 18% in 2014, 43% in 2025. Full data in the table below.

Ordered by 2025 share. * Countries mandating gender quotas. Source: MSCI ESG Research; Deloitte Global Boardroom Program.

View data table for this chart
Country Gender quota? 2014 (%) 2025 (%) Change (pp)
JapanNo314+11
ChinaNo914+5
BrazilNo616+10
IndiaNo719+12
Spain *Yes (2024)1126+15
Netherlands *Yes1028+18
CanadaNo1328+15
United StatesNo1634+18
Germany *Yes1135+24
Belgium *Yes1638+22
Italy *Yes1240+28
France *Yes1843+25
Key observations
Quotas drive the biggest gains
+22 to +28 pp
The five countries with binding gender quotas in force before 2025 — France, Italy, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands — all recorded improvements of 22 percentage points or more over the decade.
France and Italy lead
43% and 40%
France reaches 43% and Italy 40% by 2025 — both above the EU’s 40% non-executive director target set by the 2022 Gender Balance Directive, which entered into force in December 2024.
Non-quota countries also progress
US: 16% → 34%
The United States more than doubled its share without binding quotas, though Nasdaq’s 2022 diversity rule — subsequently struck down by US courts in late 2024 — contributed to momentum during the decade.
Asia lags furthest behind
Japan & China at 14%
Despite Japan’s near-fivefold improvement from 3% to 14%, both Japan and China remain at 14% — less than a third of France’s current share and well below the global trend.