PART 1 – FRANCE: A LEADER IN EUROPE SINCE 2011
The so-called “Copé-Zimmermann” Law, No 2011-103 of 27 January 2011 on balanced gender representation on boards of directors and on supervisory boards, places France among the leaders in Europe on the fight against gender inequality. Following a proposal of Jean-François Copé, Marie-Jo Zimmermann, Christian Jacob and Michèle Tabarot, the law has been enacted on 27 January 2011 and published in the Official Journal of 28 January 2011. The “Copé-Zimmermann” law provides for compulsory provisions (§1) that have to be complied with by companies that fall within its scope (§2).
§1 – The compulsory provisions of the Copé-Zimmermann legislation
The Copé-Zimmermann Law provides for several provisions on gender imbalance (A) and sanctions in case of breach of these provisions (B).
A – The different provisions on gender imbalance introduced by the Copé-Zimmermann legislation
In addition to compulsory quotas (1), the Copé-Zimmermann legislation also introduces rules regarding the maximal spread between the number of directors of each gender (2).
1 – A compulsory quota of at least 40% of each gender
The Copé-Zimmermann legislation strictly speaking does not provide for a compulsory quota of 40% of women in French companies, but rather for a representation of at least 40% of each gender (art. L. 225-18-1 C.com regarding the board of directors, L. 225-69-1 and L. 226-4-1 C.com regarding the supervisory board of a two-tier management structure). However, it is apparent from the preparatory works that specifically women are targeted. Some have expressed their regret regarding the 40% threshold and would have preferred a complete equality with a threshold of 50% . It is true that the initi...
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...nce reached 26.8% .
In addition to these progressive provisions there are provisions immediately applicable.
2 – Directly applicable measures
First of all, boards have the obligation to consider annually the company’s policy on professional equality between the sexes . Some MEPs would have preferred an obligation to achieve a fixed result (“Obligation de résultat”) rather than a simple obligation to consider the company’s policy annually.
Secondly, companies have a duty to “seek balanced representation of each sex on their boards” . While the legal committee of the ANSA considers this to be a general principle without any legal force, for others, the provision is imperative. Every time a company appoints a new director, it has the obligation to show that it fulfilled its obligation (“Obligation de moyen”) to seek a balanced representation of its board.
Sex Discrimination Act 1975- This protects women and men from discrimination or harassment as levels of the gender in employment, advertising, education or even in the provision of housing, good, services or facilities. The reason this was created is to protect every gender in the service away from discrimination or harassment because of their difference of sex. It was made by keeping the individuals protected from harassments and discrimination in service, for example all service users are kept away from sexual harassment, this is ensure by checking every staff member and care workers in the service.
The Australian Human Rights Commission (2011:p1) states that “Gender equality is a principal that lies at the heart of a fair and productive society”. If gender equality is the heart of a fair and productive society than the laws and regulations in place must be the key in maintaining a fair and productive society. If regulations and laws are not frequently discussed, debated and reviewed than issues such as sex discrimination in particular can be sufficiently dealt with or ignored. The Carter v Linuki Pty t/as Aussie & Anor [2005] NSWADTAP 40 (22 August 2005) will be used to demonstrate the regulations surrounding sexual discrimination. In this paper a thoroughly investigation into the recent changes in laws and regulations encompassing sexual discrimination will be conducted in relation to the case provided. By using the elements of the case the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth) (SDA) will be applied to the facts presented in order to explain the regulation surrounding this issue. Since the case involves a work related situation where the employee was discriminated on the basis of gender the SDA will be used. A Brief description on the impact of exclusion will be provided to demonstrate the causal link between exclusion and gender discrimination. Firstly, the case’s elements will now be analysed.
Distributive injustice is shown in the investigations that proved male employees were paid more relatively to their female counterparts. It is also evident in the scandal involving ex-CEO Harry and a female vice president; Harry is inconsistent towards the company’s code of conduct which he wants his employees to uphold. Due to their personal relationship, she might have gained exclusive rewards and privileges which her colleagues could not enjoy.
15 of the Charter. Companies should develop job strategies that promote women’s participation in the workforce to ensure that both women and men have the same resources and opportunities. Salary data should be made publicly available by gender to increase transparency. The government should consult and outline corrective actions to close the gender wage gaps in workforces with appropriate penalties for non-compliance, such as a fine. Employers who discriminate should be held accountable. The law should also prevent companies from retaliating against employees who raise concerns about gender wage discrimination.
One important question that needs to be asked is, “what is equal?” Equality between sexes and race has been stressed and made law in the late nineteenth century, but even though laws have been made to protect woman from this discrimination, it still occurs frequently. Equal is being treated the same way and having the same opportunities no matter who one is. Big business has not given women the chance to be equal with men. One does not normally see a woman as the owner, or even the manager of a major corporation, these jobs consistently go to men. Traditi...
Analysis on gender discrimination reveals that gender plays a discouraging factor in the employment of women. Throughout history men and women have been segregated into two separate sectors of employment "male" and "female." Historically, humans have witnessed various acts of fallacious imperialism that is often imposed upon groups of people based on ethnicity, skin completion and, gender. One without any socially constructed knowledge of gender would pose the question can someone really be denied employment based on gender? The answer when taking in consideration the social and empirical notions that are prevalent in society the answer would unfortunately yes, they can and have been denied historically based on gender. Various acts and interventions in efforts of alleviating the dilemma concerning employment inequalities have included a better labor market and suggestions of educational opportunities were also believed to provide a remedy to the entire crisis.
Today, however, women have integrated themselves into every field of activity and every kind of industry smoothly and skillfully. Whether travelling twenty days of the month or accepting transfers, they are as performance-oriented, sincere, competent and persevering as their male counterparts, if not more. Their presence in the corporate world is now more a rule than an exception such that a feminist agenda and, in fact, any speci...
"50 Years of EU Gender Equalitylaw." EUROPA. N.p., 25 Oct. 2007. Web. 09 Mar. 2014.
As a consequence of the separate legal entity and limited liability doctrines within the UK’s unitary based system, company law had to develop responses to the ‘agency costs’ that arose. The central response is directors’ duties; these are owed by the directors to the company and operate as a counterbalance to the vast scope of powers given to the board. The benefit of the unitary board system is reflected in the efficiency gains it brings, however the disadvantage is clear, the directors may act to further their own interests to the detriment of the company. It is evident within executive remuneration that directors are placed in a stark conflict of interest position in that they may disproportionately reward themselves. The counterbalance to this concern is S175 Companies Act 2006 (CA 2006) this acts to prevent certain conflicts arising and punishes directors who find themselves in this position. Furthermore, there are specific provisions within the CA 2006 that empower third parties such as shareholders to influence directors’ remuneration.
Evolving societal, political, as well as cultural perceptions of corporate boardroom membership are somewhat eliciting interest in the diversity of corporate directors. Additionally, the increasing worldwide desire for enhanced corporate governance is also a reason (Carter et al. 2010, p.396) and (Grosvold, Brammer and Rayton, 2007, p.347). For instance, in the UK, novel corporate governance laws after the Cadbury Report as well as the Higgs Review have highlighted the value of boardroom diversity, including gender diversity, and the necessity for choosing directors from a broader ta...
In the article, Virtually no change in getting woman on boards in Canada, stats show, Vanessa Lu examines the state of gender diversity on corporate boards in Canada. The issue arises when recent disclosure results reveal that there has been nearly no improvement over the past year in increasing the number of women appointed to the boards of Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) listed companies (2016). In other words, the number of Canadian women serving on corporate boards only increased “one percentage in the year since securities regulators first began ordering companies to track and disclose women in their ranks" (Lu 2016). Since the results show that there has been almost no change in getting women on boards
...d women’s biological purpose has provided men a source of comparative advantage in work. It is, therefore, natural for most companies to think that women cannot be as capable as men in terms of assuming strenuous or challenging positions because women, by default, become less participative and more vulnerable when they start to have family and children. Apparently, this situation has led to various gender discriminations in the labor market.
The first part of the essay will explore the case for mandate gender quotas, why are they implemented, what are they supposed to achieve and what are the implications of the implementation of them. The following part will discuss more flexible quota systems and their impact on political life and society. The compatibility of different societies and electoral systems in relation to quota systems will be explored before the essay is finalized in a conclusion.
It can be concluded that women are treated in terms of stereotyped impressions of being the lowest class and greater evidence can be found that there are large disparities between the women and the men 's class. It can be seen that women are more likely to play casual roles as they are most likely to take seasonal and part time work so that they can work according to their needs. They are hampered from progressing upward into the organizations as they face problems like lack of health insurance, sexual harassments, lower wage rates, gender biases and attitudes of negative behavior. However, this wouldn’t have hampered the participation of the women in the work force and they continue to increase their efforts which is highly evident in the occupational and job ratios of females in the industry.
“There are 74.6 million women in the civilian labor force. Almost 47 percent of U.S. workers are women.” (DeWolf 2017) Today, there are more woman in leadership roles in business than ever before. A leadership role in business ranges from a store manager, branch manager, to CEO’s of large companies. Through the modern and correct view on Feminism more business’ and individuals are proud and happy with the results woman are producing in the workplace. With women in the workplace comes the right for equal pay, which is now coming to fruition more than ever, further pushing the equal rights of women. A prime example of equal pay for equal work is the stance Google recently taken on closing the gap between salaries for men and