Diversity

Women on boards

In 2020, Switzerland’s National Council approved a legal amendment to board gender targets, establishing a gender quota for boards (30% women) and executive committees (20% women) for publicly listed companies with more than 250 employees.

Female representation at both board and ExCo level has increased since 2022 — women now account for 36% of board seats and 20% of the ExCo. Overall, the proportion of women on boards has risen by 28% and in executive committees by 82% since the legislation was passed.

It is also encouraging to note another sharp increase in the number of boards meeting the gender quota.

45% of the SMI Expanded companies achieved both quotas. 38% of the cohort achieved the board quota and not the executive committee quota; 2% met the executive quota but not the board quota. 15% met neither quota. 

Gender quota compliance

	%
Compliant with neither quota	15%
Executive quota only (20%)	2%
Board quota only (30%)	38%
Both quotas	45%

83% of the companies in the sample reached the 30% quota for female representation in the boardroom (up from 69%), and all of them have at least one female director.

Although the number of female non-executives has been rising steadily, the same cannot be said for the four most senior positions. It is concerning that these continue to be dominated overwhelmingly by men. Six new CEOs and four new CFOs were appointed at SMI Expanded companies in the period under review; all of the appointees were male.

In reviewing the data, we did not note any board member on the SMI Expanded identifying as gender non-binary. This analysis is therefore structured in binary terms.

Foreign directors

We define foreign directors as having a nationality that differs from that of the company. Noting that Swiss dual-national directors of SMI Expanded companies are counted as Swiss by some and as foreign by others, we have opted to examine this group separately.

Foreign directors among the SMI account for slightly more than half, at 54%. However, the proportion has fallen from the 60% share recorded in the 2022 Board Index. Among SMI Mid companies, the proportion is unchanged at 48%.

Across SMI Expanded boards, Swiss dual-national directors have often accrued valuable global experiences and perspectives and thus remain in high demand.

Director nationality

	Swiss	Swiss dual-nationals	Non-Swiss
SMI	33%	12%	54%
SMI Mid	43%	9%	48%
SMI Expanded	39%	11%	51%

Looking at foreign representation among chairs, the picture is very different. The majority (57%) of SMI Expanded chairs are Swiss. Foreign chairs represent 40% of the SMI, reaching 26% in the SMI Mid.

Chair nationality

	Swiss	Swiss dual-nationals	Non-Swiss
SMI	50%	10%	40%
SMI Mid	63%	11%	26%
SMI Expanded	57%	11%	32%

In terms of nationalities, Swiss and Swiss dual-nationals form the largest group, followed by countries of the EU, and the US.