Stepping Onto the Board.

The opportunity for qualified women to join the boards of EU-listed companies has never been greater. With the EU Women on Boards Directive requiring 40 percent women among non-executive directors by 30 June 2026, hundreds of board seats across Europe must be filled in a matter of weeks. But opportunity without preparation is just noise. Having served on six boards across four stock exchanges, chaired supervisory boards, and built a governance career from the management board up, here is what I wish I had known at the start — and what the data tells us about the scale of opportunity ahead.

The numbers: where we stand

Before we discuss strategy, let us be clear about the scale of the opportunity. The data paints a vivid picture. Across the 27 EU Member States, women currently hold an average of 35 percent of non-executive director positions at the largest listed companies — up from just 16 percent in 2012, a remarkable shift in barely a decade. But the Directive demands 40 percent by June 2026, meaning the EU as a whole must close a five-percentage-point gap in weeks, not years.

Fig 01Women NEDs at EU-27 largest listed companies — 2012 vs 2025 vs Directive target.

The country-by-country picture reveals enormous variation — and enormous opportunity. Seven EU countries have already reached the 40 percent target, led by France at over 45 percent. But in another seven countries, women hold fewer than 20 percent of NED positions. Cyprus sits at just 8.5 percent. Hungary at 18 percent. Poland at 24 percent. These are not small markets — they are home to hundreds of listed companies that need to appoint qualified women directors immediately.

The compliance gap

The regulatory picture is equally stark. As of January 2025, only nine Member States had fully transposed the Directive into national law. The European Commission has launched infringement proceedings against 17 Member States for failing to transpose on time. Six countries have only partially transposed, and twelve have not yet notified the relevant measures at all.

Fig 02EU-27 transposition status — source: European Commission (Jan 2025).

What does this mean for women seeking board positions? It means that even in countries where the regulatory framework is still catching up, the pressure on companies is real and immediate. Institutional investors, proxy advisory firms, and the European Commission itself are all watching. Companies that fail to meet the targets face fines, the annulment of board appointments, and mandatory public reporting on their shortfalls.

The business case is settled

If any remaining sceptics need convincing, the financial evidence is now overwhelming. MSCI research published in 2024 found that companies with at least 30 percent female directors achieved cumulative returns 18.9 percent higher than those without, measured over a five-year period from 2019 to 2024. Research published in Springer's Financial Innovation journal found that gender diversity compliance led to a 4.2 percent increase in return on assets and a 3.8 percent increase in return on equity.

Women directors also reduce corporate risk. Research consistently shows that female board representation reduces the risk of litigation, operational failures, and governance scandals. Women directors have better attendance records, are more likely to serve on monitoring committees, and hold management more accountable for underperformance. This is not about filling quotas. It is about building better-governed, higher-performing companies.

Your path will not look like anyone else's. But the competencies that boards need - legal, financial, strategic, operational, international - are competencies that women across Europe already have. — Lessons from six boards across three exchanges

My path to the boardroom

I share the advice in this article not as theory but as lived experience. My board career did not begin with a single appointment to a prestigious company. It was built deliberately over more than 13 years, across three stock exchanges, through roles that tested every dimension of governance capability I had and many I had to develop along the way.

I became Chairman and Vice President of the Supervisory Board of the Work Service International, the international division of Work Service SA Group - a company dual-listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange, with governance responsibilities spanning 20 countries across Europe and Asia, 3,000 clients, and 50,000 workers deployed daily.

I was the only woman on that supervisory board. I did not have a roadmap or a mentor who had walked the same path. What I had was deep operational knowledge of the business, legal expertise, international experience, and five languages that allowed me to engage directly with stakeholders across jurisdictions. That combination is what made me effective as a board chair.

I also served on the supervisory board of PTWP SA Group, one of Poland's largest media and publishing companies with two million daily users and organiser of the European Economic Congress. I chaired the management board of People Care, Poland's leading medical and home care services company. Today, as Executive Board Director of Genius Group Limited (NYSE: GNS), I bring that multi-jurisdictional governance perspective to a global AI-powered education company comprising 34 companies.

Eight practical steps: how to position yourself

1. Your board CV is not your executive CV. The most common mistake women make is sending their executive CV to board opportunities. A board CV leads with governance experience and oversight capability, not operational achievements. One page, maximum two. Open with a professional profile that frames your board-level value proposition.
2. Define your board value proposition in two sentences. Before you approach any opportunity, articulate what you uniquely bring to a boardroom — not your job title, but the intersection of your expertise, governance perspective, and the specific problems you can help a board solve. Specificity is everything.
3. Build governance credentials before you need them. Advisory board positions, charity trusteeships, industry committee roles, and public governance commissions all count. Each builds governance muscle and, critically, builds your network of board-level contacts.
4. Register on every relevant platform. Nurole, NEDonBoard, BoardEx, European Women on Boards, the 30% Club — register on all of them. Update your profiles regularly. These are where search firms and nominations committees look for candidates. If you are not there, you are invisible.
5. Network with intent, not hope. Board appointments are relationship-driven. Attend governance conferences. Engage with search firms — Spencer Stuart, Egon Zehnder, Heidrick & Struggles, Russell Reynolds. But do not wait to be found. Reach out to chairs and senior NEDs. Ask for coffee, not a board seat. Build the relationship first.
6. Invest in your digital presence. When a nominations committee considers you, someone will Google your name. What they find is your digital due-diligence profile. Optimise your LinkedIn. Consider a personal website. Publish on governance topics. Every piece of content reinforces your professional credibility.
7. Do not undersell international experience. If you have worked across borders, speak multiple languages, or have governed businesses in multiple jurisdictions, this is a competitive advantage, not a footnote. EU-listed companies need directors who understand cross-border regulatory environments.
8. Be ready when the call comes. Board searches move fast. Have your board CV ready. Have your value proposition rehearsed. Know which committees you would be most effective on — audit, remuneration, nomination, or risk. Walk into the conversation as someone who has already done the thinking.

The window is open

In the countries with the widest compliance gaps — where women hold fewer than 25 percent of NED positions — the demand for qualified women directors over the coming months will be unprecedented. Companies in Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Greece, and Cyprus face the steepest climb to compliance and will need to move fast.

But even in countries already near the target, board turnover creates ongoing opportunities. The Directive is not a one-time event. It requires sustained compliance, which means a permanent structural increase in demand for women non-executive directors.

The evidence supports you. The regulation demands it. The business case is settled. The door is open. The only question is whether you are prepared to walk through it.