Estonia: Draft legislation on gender balance in listed companies

Estonia’s Ministry of Economy and Ministry of Finance have drafted legislation mandating gender balance on the boards of listed companies, ERR reports. An EU directive requires that at least 40% of supervisory board members or 33% of the total board and council members be from the underrepresented gender by the end of June 2026. Currently, the regulations would apply to 12 businesses in Estonia. While there are no penalties for non-compliance, companies must adopt transparent recruitment policies. The percentage of women on company boards in Estonia is one of the lowest in the EU.