In the media
CAC 40: 31% women on executive committees, but only 10% in top management roles
The Rixain law delivered on executive committees. It has not broken the glass ceiling that blocks the way to the chief executive's office.
Women in leadership: a long fight to break the glass ceiling
Since March, the Rixain law has required French companies with at least 1,000 employees to reach a 30% quota of women among senior executives and leadership bodies. The obligation is already bearing fruit, even if it does not always come with real cultural change.
European governance has fallen behind on technology and geopolitics
Catching up. Europe holds its lead on board diversity and structure, but its boards lack the strategic capacity to face a world in flux, finds the 2026 barometer of the European Confederation of Directors' Associations (ecoDa), produced with Ethics & Boards.
Women in leadership: "As long as the operational pipelines stay unbalanced, access to the top will be too"
Quotas succeeded in bringing women onto boards. But the doors of executive committees remain too often closed to them, says Denis Terrien of the Institut Français des Administrateurs.
Large companies: women now hold nearly 30% of executive committee seats
In France, companies with more than 1,000 employees must have at least 30% women in their most senior leadership bodies from 1 March 2026. By 2029 the figure rises to 40%, under the Rixain law.
Women hold just 10% of top jobs in the SBF 120 and the CAC 40
Women's presence in leadership bodies rose two points in a year, yet the proportion of women at the top of France's largest companies remains a small minority.
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