The directive introduces minimum requirements for the participation of underrepresented sexes, in the case of Poland – women, on the boards and supervisory boards of large listed companies and requires transparent recruitment and selection processes.
In July 2025, Ombudsman Marcin Wiązek asked the Minister of Justice to urgently enact a law implementing the directive. He argued that in January of the same year the European Commission initiated an infringement procedure against Poland due to the hold in transposing the rules. Despite 2 meetings on the task at the Standing Committee of the Council of Ministers (February and September 2025), the task was not accepted and no deadline was set to resume its implementation. The Leviathan Confederation warns that further delays reduce the time for entrepreneurs to adapt to the fresh requirements.
– Equal participation of women and men on boards and supervisory boards of companies benefits not only women, but the full organization. It increases the diversity of competences, experiences and prospects, which translates into better quality of decisions. As many studies show, companies with a sex balance accomplish higher productivity and better financial performance. Diversity in boards besides fosters innovation and more liable hazard management. It is crucial that businesses have adequate time and a clear legal framework to prepare for the implementation of fresh sex balance requirements, says Małgorzata Mroczkowska-Horne, Director-General of the Leviathan Confederation, Head of the DEI team.
Women in Poland represent only 23% of all members of the company's authorities, which puts us at the end of the list of countries of the European Union. The situation in the largest companies listed on the WSE is even more worrying – only 4% of board presidents are women. Looking at the full stock exchange, more than 60% of companies do not have a single female in their authorities, which underlines the immense disparity and indicates the urgent request for action to increase representation of women on board boards and supervisory boards.
Confederation of Leviathan
