The law imposing quotas has led to a surge in the number of female executives in large French companies.
The regulation requires companies with more than 1,000 employees to have at least 30% women in management positions.
ParisThe number of women on the boards of directors of large French companies has steadily increased in recent years. In the case of CAC 40 companies—the French equivalent of the IBEX 35—the progress is remarkable: while 6.3% of executive committee members were women in 2008, this figure rose to 28.81% in 2025, according to a study by the Skema business school. However, women's presence in senior management positions remains a minority, and parity is still a long way off. The increase in female executives is explained by the quotas imposed by the French government. On March 1st, it became mandatory for companies with more than 1,000 employees to have at least 30% women on their management and executive committees. The so-called Rixain Law—which, according to experts cited by the French press, has no equivalent in Western countries—also establishes that by 2029 the percentage of female directors must reach 40%. In Spain, the parity law will also require large companies to have 40% female representation on their boards of directors by June of this year, but the regulation only affects companies listed on the IBEX 35. The French law goes further, affecting all large companies (around 1,500) and stipulating fines of up to 1% of their payroll for companies that do not comply. The French government has not yet released data on compliance with the regulation, but according to the barometer of the French Institute of Directors (IFA), the 120 largest listed French companies will have 30% female directors by 2025. In 2021, female representation was only 22%. No data is available for the other companies.
The quotas work
“I’m not in favor of quotas because I believe a person should be valued for their skills, experience, and abilities. But quotas work. They’re not the ideal solution, but they work,” says Silvia Arto, Communications Director at the French bank BNP Paribas, in a conversation with ARA.
Progress is important, but Michel Ferrary, head of the study at the Skema business school, warns that the glass ceiling still exists. A law predating Rixain required CAC 40 companies to have gender-balanced boards of directors, something that has been achieved. However, those with a woman as chair or CEO are an exception. “Of course the glass ceiling exists. Just look at the CEOs of large French companies,” points out Arto, who is also president of the Club of Spanish Women Executives Abroad, which brings together Spanish women who hold management positions in French companies.
Among the CAC 40 companies, there are only two female chairpersons of the board of directors—one of them being Ángeles García Poveda from the Canary Islands, who has led Legrand since 2020—and four female CEOs. But the worrying thing is that in many companies, middle management, those who could potentially aspire to senior management positions, is predominantly male.
"Middle management matters more than senior management. Feminization cannot be limited to symbolic leadership positions. It must affect the entire organization to produce long-term effects on performance, accountability, and value creation," says Ferrary.
The least egalitarian companies
A study by the Skema business school identifies the French companies that least prioritize gender equality. Among the worst performers are Danone, EssilorLuxottica, and Eurofins Scientific. According to Skema, these companies have a large number of female employees, but this female presence is not sufficiently reflected in management positions. Companies like Airbus, Alstom, Total Energías, and Renault—among others—also have unequal leadership structures, but unlike the aforementioned companies, they have a predominantly male workforce, according to the study. On the other hand, among the country's most feminist large companies, those that "have made the professional advancement of women a structural priority," are L'Oréal, Sanofi, Carrefour, BNP Paribas, and Crédit Agricole, among others. The study also identifies Engie, Accor, Orange, and Thales as companies with a strong female presence in senior management despite having a predominantly male workforce. "Managerial will partially compensates for imbalances in hiring," the study states.
