Spanish 2022 AGMs: IBEX values must focus on diversity

Not reaching 30% female representation on boards will cause tension in the next Spanish AGM season. The recommendation of the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) for the IBEX is more ambitious. The Code of Good Governance sets a target of reaching 40% female representation by this year.

This article, by the Spanish news publication Social Investor, finds that the issue of diversity will affect board remuneration during the next Spanish AGM season. "We can predict that those boards that do not present a minimum gender balance of 70%-30% will face significant levels of opposition in the board elections," forecasts Morrow Sodali.

This would be the level that some large voting advisors, such as ISS or Glass Lewis, would have set as the desirable minimum for IBEX companies in their voting recommendations for 2022.

"This is consistent with the expectations of most international institutional investors – some of them are already applying this threshold (and others higher) when casting their votes in the board elections," explains Eduardo Sancho, Manager, Corporate Governance at Morrow Sodali.

Read more here (in Spanish only).