AP2’s Female Representation Index for 2019 shows that the proportion of women represented on the boards of companies listed on NASDAQ Stockholm continues to increase, albeit slowly, and is now at 34.0 (33.9) percent. The proportion of women in executive positions is also increasing and in this year’s survey it was 24.0 (23.2) percent. For the first time, more than 10 percent of listed companies have a female Chairman of the Board.

“This year’s Female Representation Index shows that the percentage of women on the boards of listed companies has increased by only 0.1 percentage point compared with last year. In the last five years the yearly increases have been greater. So, while this is the highest recorded level and the proportion continues to grow, I hope that this trend will not stagnate, as 34 percent is still too low,” says Eva Halvarsson, CEO of AP2.

“It is encouraging that the percentage of women board chairmen and CEOs is on the increase. For the first time, more than 10 percent of listed companies have a woman as board chairman (10.2%, increase from 8.8%). The proportion of female CEOs is 9.0% (increase from 8.4%),” she says.

“It is interesting to note that the nominating committees with women correlate favourably with boards with a higher proportion of women, while boards without nominating committees have a lower proportion of female board members than other companies,” she says.

On the board of primary-listed Large-cap companies, the proportion of women is 41.0 percent when the CEO is excluded from the board.

The percentage of companies with at least 25 percent women board members is increasing. Of the 332 companies in the survey, 254 have at least 25 percent women on the board.

Newly elected women on boards are younger than their male counterparts and female board members have on average a slightly higher number of board assignments than male members.

Background to AP2’s Female Representation Index
AP2 has since 2003 conducted an annual survey with Nordic Investor Services to determine the proportion of women at middle management level, in executive positions and on the boards of listed companies. The survey for 2019 covered 332 primary and secondary listed companies on NASDAQ Stockholm. In addition, the survey records the proportion of women who have graduated from study programmes that constitute the traditional recruitment base for management groups and boards.

For more information, please contact:
Eva Halvarsson, CEO, Andra AP-fonden (AP2), phone +46 (0)31 704 29 00
Ulrika Danielson, Head of Communications & HR, phone +46 (0)709 50 16 13

www.ap2.se

The figures refer to all companies listed on NASDAQ Stockholm, unless otherwise specified.

AP2 is one of the buffer funds within the Swedish pension system and one of northern Europe’s largest pension funds. AP2’s assets under management totalled SEK 334.8 billion (31 December 2018), in essentially all assets classes and across the whole world. AP2 is a long-term and responsible asset manager that has an important mission – to give Sweden’s current and future pensioners the best possible pensions by minimising the negative effect on pensions that would derive from applying the ‘brake’.