unimelb-nlp/MultiEup-v2 huggingface dataset:
Debate: Gender balance among non-executive directors of companies listed on stock exchanges
Date: TUESDAY, 22 NOVEMBER 2022
Speaker: Karen Melchior
Political group: Renew
Country: Estonia
Language: DA

Fru formand! Vi står på skuldrene af giganter. Vi er ikke nået til dette tidspunkt alene. Dette er resultatet af mange års arbejde. EU har sikret ligestilling i Europa igennem mere end 40 år. Vi havde ikke fået ligeløn. Vi havde ikke fået øremærket barsel, hvis ikke det var på grund af EU. I dag sikrer vi, at vi får ligestilling i bestyrelser i vores virksomheder. Fordi vi får, hvad vi måler. Derfor kommer vi fra 2026 til at stille medlemslandene ansvarlige for at sikre ligestilling i bestyrelserne. Det er derfor, at dette direktiv betyder så uendeligt meget. Vi sætter retningen, vi løfter baren for, hvad ligestilling betyder. Vi kommer ikke til at have en kvote for kvinder, men vi kommer til at afskaffe kvoten for inkompetente mænd. Vi kommer til at sikre, at det rent faktisk er folks kvalifikationer og ikke, hvem man kender eller, hvilket køn man har. Derfor hilser jeg det enormt velkommen, at vi får direktivet her i dag, og jeg ser frem til, at medlemsstaterne kommer til at gøre noget for ligestillingen, sådan så vi løfter fra bunden og ikke kun løfter barren i toppen.
Debate: Gender balance among non-executive directors of companies listed on stock exchanges
Date: TUESDAY, 22 NOVEMBER 2022
Speaker: Alice Kuhnke
Political group: Verts/ALE
Country: Germany
Language: EN

Madam President, Commissioner, some things seem so self-evident, so obviously the right thing to do that we tend to believe that they will eventually just happen, that the persons with the most and the best qualifications take the seat in the room is one of those things. There are those who want to reduce the long battle to make sure women have a seat at the decision-making tables of companies to only be about fairness, when it is equally as much about competence.  During the course of working with this legislation, we have again and again been told that it is a person’s qualifications and skills which should determine if they get a certain position, and that is exactly how it should be. After many years of hard work, we hopefully are a majority who can agree that the competences we need in companies in the EU are not only those of white middle-aged men.  Experiences and knowledge comes in other shapes and colours that we need to make our companies, our Union, the best it can be. Women on boards should be the self-evident first step to take, but it is only the beginning of something that can become even bigger.
Debate: Gender balance among non-executive directors of companies listed on stock exchanges
Date: TUESDAY, 22 NOVEMBER 2022
Speaker: Alessandra Basso
Political group: ID
Country: Italy
Language: IT

Signora Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, in Italia non abbiamo dovuto aspettare dieci anni per sentirci dire quante donne debbano occupare posti decisionali.  In Italia abbiamo già dal 2011 una legislazione efficace che ci ha permesso di raggiungere uno degli obiettivi alternativi imposti dalla direttiva anzitempo. Imporre a livello europeo un sistema a quote e quindi di quantità nei posti di comando è un approccio che politicamente non può avere il nostro sostegno. Parafrasando una frase di Oriana Fallaci, i mediocri del politicamente corretto negano sempre il merito e sostituiscono sempre la qualità con la quantità. E quello che le donne vogliono è il riconoscimento dei loro meriti, non un posto riservato e non può e non deve fare alcuna differenza indossare una cravatta o dei tacchi a spillo, perché in futuro non ci dovranno essere leader femminili o maschili, ci dovranno essere solo leader. Rivolgo un mio pensiero a Roberto Maroni.
Debate: Gender balance among non-executive directors of companies listed on stock exchanges
Date: TUESDAY, 22 NOVEMBER 2022
Speaker: Dorien Rookmaker
Political group: ECR
Country: Netherlands
Language: NL

Voorzitter, kunnen we met wet- en regelgeving de ideale wereld scheppen? Veel Europese Parlementsleden schijnen te denken van wel. De Europese Unie wil met behulp van wet- en regelgeving de wereld naar haar hand zetten via antiwitwaswetgeving, duurzaamheidsvoorschriften zoals de CSDDD en genderbepalingen. De wereld naar je hand zetten met een stortvloed aan wet- en regelgeving is onmogelijk en bovendien gevaarlijk.  Iedereen weet dat met meer bemoeienis van de politiek met het bedrijfsleven de grenzen tussen publiek en privaat verdwijnen. Meer administratieve lasten. Meer management en control. Minder vrijheid. Minder welvaart. Een onomkeerbaar proces dat leidt tot verarming. Kunnen we met wet- en regelgeving een ideale wereld scheppen? Seneca vond van niet. Hij stelde: de weg via voorschriften is lang, de weg via voorbeelden is kort en doelgericht.
Debate: Gender balance among non-executive directors of companies listed on stock exchanges
Date: TUESDAY, 22 NOVEMBER 2022
Speaker: Elena Kountoura
Political group: The Left
Country: Germany
Language: EL

Κυρία Πρόεδρε, δέκα χρόνια μετά την αρχική πρόταση της Επιτροπής, η Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση προχωράει στην υιοθέτηση της οδηγίας για τις γυναίκες στα διοικητικά συμβούλια, κάνοντας ένα ουσιαστικό βήμα ώστε να μπει τέλος στην υποεκπροσώπηση των γυναικών στα διοικητικά συμβούλια των μεγάλων ευρωπαϊκών εταιρειών.  Είμαστε υπερήφανοι για το αποτέλεσμα που πετύχαμε στις διαπραγματεύσεις με το Συμβούλιο και την Ευρωπαϊκή Επιτροπή. Θέλω να συγχαρώ τις συναδέλφους εισηγήτριες του Ευρωπαϊκού Κοινοβουλίου και είμαι υπερήφανη που μπόρεσα να συμβάλω και εγώ στη διαπραγματευτική ομάδα του Ευρωπαϊκού Κοινοβουλίου για να επιτευχθεί αυτή η συμφωνία. Παρότι τα επίσημα ευρωπαϊκά στοιχεία αποδεικνύουν ότι οι ευρωπαϊκές εταιρείες που διασφαλίζουν υψηλή εκπροσώπηση και των δύο φύλων στα διοικητικά τους συμβούλια αποδίδουν καλύτερα, οι γυναίκες εξακολουθούν σήμερα να αποτελούν σαφή μειοψηφία, αντιπροσωπεύοντας μόλις το 34% των μη εκτελεστικών μελών των διοικητικών συμβουλίων στην Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση.  Οι γυναίκες δικαιούνται ίσες ευκαιρίες ανέλιξης στις ηγετικές θέσεις των εταιρειών. Είναι ανάγκη να σταματήσει αυτή η απαράδεκτη σπατάλη ευκαιριών και ταλέντου σε βάρος των γυναικών. Δεν πρόκειται μόνο για ζήτημα κοινωνικής δικαιοσύνης, αλλά αποτελεί προϋπόθεση ώστε να εξασφαλίσει η Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση την οικονομική ανάπτυξη που έχει τόσο ανάγκη. Η νέα οδηγία προσδοκούμε να ανατρέψει τις δομικές αυτές ανισότητες, φέρνοντας περισσότερες γυναίκες στα κέντρα λήψης των αποφάσεων προς όφελος όχι μόνο των ευρωπαϊκών επιχειρήσεων, αλλά συνολικά της κοινωνίας και της οικονομίας.
Debate: Gender balance among non-executive directors of companies listed on stock exchanges
Date: TUESDAY, 22 NOVEMBER 2022
Speaker: Frances Fitzgerald
Political group: PPE
Country: Germany
Language: EN

Madam President, I organised the first conference on women and decision-making in Ireland over 30 years ago. This directive has been blocked for ten years. What is it about women’s equality that makes it so difficult for people to have agreement, to go forward, to have equal representation? It continues and we have to work hard. Well done to Commissioner Dalli and to the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, for unblocking this. Of course we need it, we have to accelerate the representation of women on boards, that is really important. We have good leadership here and we see the presidents of the Commission, the Central Bank, and of course, our own Parliament. But this cannot just be a shooting star, one effort. It has to be methodical, it has to be systematic. And we have to make sure that there is a permanent change to ensure that women are more equally represented and that our companies benefit from the presence of women, because it is necessarily culturally, socially and of course, financially and economically. Because having more women on the boards of a company isn’t just a step towards societal justice, it is an economic imperative. And right now we have too few women. Isn’t it incredible that only 6.7% of women are chairs of boards and only 6.5% across Europe are CEOs? Yet adding one more woman to a company board increases the profits of that company and gives a higher return in assets to the tune of 8 to 13 basis points. So this directive has the power to change, and from today we will begin to see more women on those EU company boards. And that’s a good thing for everybody.
Debate: Gender balance among non-executive directors of companies listed on stock exchanges
Date: TUESDAY, 22 NOVEMBER 2022
Speaker: Marc Angel
Political group: S-D
Country: Luxembourg
Language: EN

Madam President, Commissioner, dear colleagues, it is a sad fact that only 30.6 % of board members in our largest companies are women, knowing that girls do better in schools than boys and knowing that in the European Union 60 % of new graduates from universities are women.  Many studies show that gender quotas are the most effective instrument for increasing women’s presence on company boards. Voluntary regulations without sanctions does not work. Therefore we Socialists and Democrats are pleased that we finally, after 10 years, adopted this Women on Boards Directive.  This directive will improve gender equality by ensuring that at least 40 % of non-executive director posts or 30 % of all director posts are occupied by the underrepresented sex and this by 2026 through transparent, clear and neutral appointment criteria. This directive also rightly foresees dissuasive penalties for non-compliance and it’s a great success for us Socialists and Democrats. Our fight against gender inequalities can no longer wait and it will go on. I call on more men, I call on all men to speak up for gender equality and fight the patriarchal model that subsists in our society. Gender equality is a recipe for prosperity. This directive is not only good for women, it is good for the progress, the sustainability and the success of our European companies and economy.
Debate: Gender balance among non-executive directors of companies listed on stock exchanges
Date: TUESDAY, 22 NOVEMBER 2022
Speaker: María Soraya Rodríguez Ramos
Political group: Renew
Country: France
Language: ES

Señora presidenta, efectivamente, diez años ha estado bloqueada esta Directiva y durante estos diez años, en los consejos de administración de las empresas cotizadas, siete de cada diez miembros de administración han sido hombres y menos de una de cada diez de las grandes empresas en la Unión Europea ha tenido una presidenta o directora ejecutiva.  Por lo tanto, esta Directiva era absolutamente necesaria y urgente para buscar un equilibrio en estos consejos de administración de las empresas cotizadas, en las que mayoritariamente los puestos están ocupados por hombres, no porque sean los mejores, sino porque en el proceso de selección el género ha sido un criterio y las mujeres han estado discriminadas.  Por eso hoy también lanzamos un mensaje de esperanza a las jóvenes mujeres que están en las universidades, en los colegios. A partir de ahora, esta Directiva garantiza un proceso de selección justo y transparente, con criterios basados en la neutralidad, donde el género no va a ser un elemento discriminatorio. A partir de ahora, como mínimo, el 40 % serán mujeres, pero podrán ser más porque habrá criterios de capacidad. Solamente decirles que diez años muestran las dificultades para avanzar en la igualdad.  Y creo que hoy también es un momento para dar las gracias a todas las mujeres de esta Cámara, de todos los grupos políticos, que han mantenido la llama y la fortaleza para que llegara este gran día.
Debate: Gender balance among non-executive directors of companies listed on stock exchanges
Date: TUESDAY, 22 NOVEMBER 2022
Speaker: Sergey Lagodinsky
Political group: Verts/ALE
Country: France
Language: EN

Madam President, numbers do matter. One in ten, less than one in ten board presidents and CEOs are women. Numbers do matter. Ten, ten years this Council has been blocking this project. Ten more years when young female employees, young and old, did not know what are their chances to get into leadership positions. Ten more years when schoolgirls and young women did not know what are their chances to be leaders of companies. Well, now it’s going to get better. For us three elements are especially important. Number one, we want a guarantee, the guarantee that women are treated fairly throughout the whole selection procedure, the whole selection procedure including preparation of vacancy notices, pre-selection phase, the shortlisting phase; and this holistic approach is in this legislation.  Number two, access to justice. The shift of the burden of proof is essential. It is up to the companies to prove that they do not discriminate. And this is an important step in this legislation, and our conservative and right wing colleagues: do not manipulate. It is not about putting gender over expertise because only equally, equally qualified candidates will be preferred if they are women. So it is about qualification.  Numbers do matter. Thirty-three per cent – only 33% of non-executive and executive directors combined are the target in this legislation and that means that this number should be improved and it will be improved by us when we will evaluate this legislation very soon. There is a bigger target to aim, and this is our goal as the Parliament in the future.
Debate: Gender balance among non-executive directors of companies listed on stock exchanges
Date: TUESDAY, 22 NOVEMBER 2022
Speaker: Ladislav Ilčić
Political group: ECR
Country: France
Language: EN

And also, since we don’t want to be racist, also certain numbers of different skin colours should be in these committees. So my question is: do you intend to implement quotas also and to impose quotas to firms concerning LGBTQ and races?
Debate: Gender balance among non-executive directors of companies listed on stock exchanges
Date: TUESDAY, 22 NOVEMBER 2022
Speaker: Annika Bruna
Political group: ID
Country: Romania
Language: FR

Madame la Présidente, je me réjouis qu’on ait enfin trouvé un accord en vue de l’adoption de la directive concernant la participation des femmes dans les conseils d’administration. Je vous invite à soutenir ce texte raisonnable mis au vote aujourd’hui et qui a pour ambition de donner les moyens nécessaires aux États membres pour parvenir à une représentation plus équilibrée des hommes et des femmes parmi les administrateurs des sociétés cotées en bourse. Cette directive est un signal fort pour les femmes qui pourront ainsi s’impliquer dans les processus de décision. Cette implication accrue représente un vecteur indispensable pour assurer une meilleure gouvernance des entreprises, en termes tant de performance que d’évolution. Cette directive, soutenue par les députés européens du Rassemblement national, va permettre aux États membres d’accélérer les progrès accomplis en ce domaine et de donner l’exemple aux différentes sphères de pouvoir qui composent nos sociétés.
Debate: Gender balance among non-executive directors of companies listed on stock exchanges
Date: TUESDAY, 22 NOVEMBER 2022
Speaker: Michiel Hoogeveen
Political group: ECR
Country: Sweden
Language: EN

Madam President, coming from the financial sector, one of the companies I worked for was looking for a female director. And after a long and proactive recruitment procedure they couldn’t find a candidate. And it wasn’t just the board. The company proactively recruited women. Still, men remained overrepresented.  More than three quarters of companies in the financial sector are actively trying to attract female talent. But 64% of them do not see any progress in the number of female applicants. When we compare this to other sectors, for example medicine, we see women on the rise without quotas. In the Netherlands, approximately 66% of all doctors and 55% of specialist doctors will soon be women. Women achieve excellence in their chosen careers. We should recognise that there are gender-specific preferences to specific types of work. Let us give individuals and businesses the freedom to decide what they want and what works best for themselves.
Debate: Gender balance among non-executive directors of companies listed on stock exchanges
Date: TUESDAY, 22 NOVEMBER 2022
Speaker: Michiel Hoogeveen
Political group: ECR
Country: Sweden
Language: EN

But if you look at quotas, if you look at the rationale or the ideas behind quotas, it says we need more female ideas because women bring other ideas. But then the question I’m asking is: what are female ideas? Isn’t this a very contradicting way? And isn’t this a very contradicting thing to say? I mean, I’m all for diversity of ideas, but that should be based on character, not on sex, race or ethnicity. So I think that’s the bottom line.
Debate: Gender balance among non-executive directors of companies listed on stock exchanges
Date: TUESDAY, 22 NOVEMBER 2022
Speaker: Eugenia Rodríguez Palop
Political group: The Left
Country: Netherlands
Language: ES

Señora presidenta, la ausencia de las mujeres en las empresas ha sido el fruto de decisiones sesgadas, prejuiciosas e injustas. Decisiones que explican la brecha de género en el empleo, en el salario y en las pensiones, los techos de cristal y los techos de cemento. Hemos sufrido barreras que nos han obligado a esforzarnos mucho más para competir, aún estando mejor preparadas, y que nos han obligado a elegir entre nuestra vida personal, familiar y laboral para que los varones no tuvieran que hacerlo. Hoy sabemos que esta injusticia ha tenido además un efecto negativo sobre el propio desempeño de la economía, porque la feminización de la empresa garantiza sostenibilidad, seguridad, realismo, flexibilidad, cooperación, responsabilidad, confianza, empatía y promoción del consenso. El liderazgo de las mujeres cambia la cultura empresarial y ese cambio incrementa la innovación, la competitividad y la rentabilidad. Resulta que no es el éxito el que nos hace felices, sino la felicidad la que nos asegura el éxito. En fin, no nos están regalando nada. Somos más bien nosotras las que regalamos al mundo, como llevamos haciendo desde hace siglos, y ahora se trata de recibir algo a cambio. Solo y exclusivamente lo que nos merecemos.
Debate: Gender balance among non-executive directors of companies listed on stock exchanges
Date: TUESDAY, 22 NOVEMBER 2022
Speaker: Angelika Winzig
Political group: PPE
Country: Greece
Language: DE

Sehr geehrte Frau Präsidentin, Frau Kommissarin, Kolleginnen und Kollegen! Viele Studien und auch die betriebliche Praxis zeigen, dass börsennotierte Unternehmen, die ein ausgeglichenes Geschlechterverhältnis aufweisen, auch in ihren Geschäftsergebnissen besser abschneiden. Darum ist es auch wirtschaftspolitisch wichtig, dass es jetzt zu einer Einigung kommt. Erfreulich ist, dass jene Mitgliedstaaten, die bereits Vorarbeit geleistet haben, jetzt ausgenommen sind, denn sie haben schon die entsprechenden Gesetze, die faire und transparente Auswahlverfahren garantieren. Eines muss uns aber bei dieser Debatte bewusst werden: Wir sprechen hier von einem Mikrokosmos von sehr erfolgreichen und auch gut ausgebildeten Frauen. Mir ist in diesem Zusammenhang aber ein großes Anliegen, dass wir Mädchen in der Grundausbildung in den sogenannten MINT-Fächern fördern, denn dann können sie nicht nur in ertragsreicheren Firmen und somit auch in besser bezahlten Branchen arbeiten, sondern haben es auch künftig leichter, die gläserne Decke zu durchbrechen.
Debate: Gender balance among non-executive directors of companies listed on stock exchanges
Date: TUESDAY, 22 NOVEMBER 2022
Speaker: Pina Picierno
Political group: S-D
Country: Spain
Language: IT

Signora Presidente, signora Commissaria, onorevoli colleghe e colleghi, oggi facciamo un passo avanti enorme per la parità di genere, per i diritti delle donne.  Questo è un momento significativo, importante naturalmente per noi, ma è importante soprattutto, io credo, per le future generazioni. E lo facciamo questo passo in avanti così importante – fatemelo dire – grazie alla tenacia di questo Parlamento, grazie alla tenacia della Commissaria, grazie alle colleghe e ai colleghi che hanno lavorato incessantemente a questa direttiva – guardo Evelyn – perché per dieci anni alcuni governi ci hanno assolutamente tenuti in ostaggio, sono stati miopi di fronte al progresso, di fronte alla verità, alla giustizia, hanno bloccato norme di buonsenso che avevano e che hanno l'ambizione semplicemente di correggere una distorsione della realtà che è figlia di stereotipi e di una inaccettabile cultura patriarcale. E allora facciamo un passo in avanti parziale, signora Presidente e chiudo, in un settore però cruciale per il futuro di tutte le donne.
Debate: Gender balance among non-executive directors of companies listed on stock exchanges
Date: TUESDAY, 22 NOVEMBER 2022
Speaker: Barry Andrews
Political group: Renew
Country: Ireland
Language: EN

Madam President, Commissioner, this is a landmark directive and it’s very welcome. And as we’ve heard many times, there is vast research and evidence which demonstrates the economic value of increasing representation on boards.  In Ireland we have made great progress over the last very short period of time. Irish PLCs already have 32% female representation on boards. Ireland also leads the way with women in top jobs. A survey of 24 countries showed that Ireland actually leads these countries – including the UK, the US, Canada, Australia and Singapore. And perhaps it’s no coincidence, despite the dire warnings we’ve heard about the performance of the economy, that Ireland is the leading economy in the European Union over the last couple of years.  And I wanted to pay tribute to the rapporteurs and everybody that has been involved in this, but also to Renew Europe, because it was a Renew Europe priority for this parliamentary term. I want to pay tribute to my colleagues, Samira Rafaela and to Karen Melchior.  And before I finish, I want to say we should focus as well on representation in politics. It’s important that we do this in economics, but some of the most important boards in the world are governments. And just look at the last G20, where there were just two female leaders present among the 20.
Debate: Gender balance among non-executive directors of companies listed on stock exchanges
Date: TUESDAY, 22 NOVEMBER 2022
Speaker: Isabella Tovaglieri
Political group: ID
Country: Spain
Language: IT

Signora Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, imporre la parità nei CdA delle grandi aziende è un'operazione di facciata, che sicuramente piace ai progressisti, ma che purtroppo non risolve alla radice il problema della disparità di genere sul lavoro. Per avere più donne ai vertici non servono quote rosa né multe alle imprese, ma un welfare efficiente e una valida offerta formativa, che permettano alle donne di affermarsi grazie al loro merito e alle loro competenze. Lo dimostra il caso dell'avanzata Lombardia – e qui il mio pensiero va al governatore Roberto Maroni, che ha contribuito a renderla grande – dove lavora il 48 % delle manager di tutta Italia. Allora occorre più pragmatismo e meno ideologia. Non abbiamo bisogno di corsie preferenziali, ma di una competizione equa e ad armi pari, per arrivare a una parità vera e non di comodo, che possa garantire, oltre ai diritti delle donne, anche il progresso economico e culturale delle nostre nazioni.
Debate: Gender balance among non-executive directors of companies listed on stock exchanges
Date: TUESDAY, 22 NOVEMBER 2022
Speaker: Isabella Tovaglieri
Political group: ID
Country: Spain
Language: IT

Andiamo incontro alla transizione digitale e ci saranno nuove professioni del futuro, soprattutto nelle materie STEM, ma dobbiamo essere consapevoli che soltanto una minimissima percentuale di donne si approccia alle materie tecnico-scientifiche, perché ci dicono che probabilmente queste materie sono appannaggio degli uomini. Allora lavoriamo su questo, facendo orientamento soprattutto nelle scuole tra i più piccoli, per far affacciare e approcciare le donne a queste materie, dove peraltro ottengono risultati anche più brillanti degli uomini, per dare loro effettivamente posti di lavoro di qualità, che consentano loro di bilanciare anche il lavoro e la famiglia. Questa è la vera pari opportunità, la competizione ci deve essere, ad armi pari, ma la competizione ci deve essere.