MacroPolis

Over the past decade, corporations globally have increasingly channelled their activities towards responsible and sustainable business conduct. Actions and policies that in the 1980s and early 1990s were considered “nice‑to‑have” - typically in the form of Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives such as volunteering or donating - have now evolved into full ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) and sustainability strategies integrated into the core business model.

Within the “S” pillar of ESG sits Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). DEI has evolved from a human‑resources initiative into a core pillar of corporate governance, sustainability and ESG. Although related, diversity, equity and inclusion do not always come together. Diversity refers to demographic differences within an organisation’s workforce - including characteristics such as race/ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, disability and religion - which are usually protected by law. Equity is about promoting fairness and justice, while inclusion concerns people’s sense of belonging.

Importantly, research has shown that having more diverse boards in terms of gender or race cannot, by itself, deliver benefits if company culture is not inclusive and rules‑based.

The view from the US

Over the past three years, both these acronyms (ESG and DEI) and their underlying principles have been under attack in the United States. In the past year, with repeated executive orders, the Trump Administration attacked the so-called “affirmative action” element of DEI, i.e. the active preferential hiring of people from historically underrepresented groups.^[1]

As a result, a large number of US companies abandoned or rebranded their DEI programmes. The list included financial services firms like Goldman Sachs, State Street, and JP Morgan Chase, retailers like Target and Walmart,40 food and beverage companies such as Coke, Pepsi, and McDonalds, and tech companies such as Google and its parent company Alphabet.^[2]

The view from Europe

In contrast, Europe has been using quotas to advance the participation of women on corporate boards for many years. Sweden has had a target guidance of 40% gender balance on boards since 2014, Germany 30% for the underrepresented gender on supervisory boards of listed companies and since 2016 and France has enacted a legal requirement of 40% women on the board in large companies since 2017.^[3] Portugal, Italy and Spain have had similar mandates.^[4]

At the European level, the European Commission has been proposing a number of regulations to level the field between men and women. The Pay Transparency Directive (2023) made it mandatory for companies with more than 100 employees to publish data on their internal gender pay gaps. This legislation is being transposed into Greek law and the consultation period just ended in June 2026.^[5]

The end of June was also the deadline for the implementation of the 2022 EU “Women on Boards” directive. This makes it a legal requirement for listed companies to have at least 40% minimum representation of the underrepresented sex among non-executive directors and 33% minimum representation across all director positions.^[6]

Greek companies

Where do Greek companies stand among this? While firms in Greece have come a long way in terms of sustainable and responsible governance (see for instance an overall increase of women in management positions overall from 2015)^[7], many large, listed companies currently sit at or slightly below the EU’s threshold. Research into the companies that compose the ATHEX/ FTSE index which includes the largest Greek listed companies, shows a mixed picture. Only four out of the 25 companies fulfill criteria of 33% while the majority of the companies fall below the 30% limit.

The business case for diversity has been well documented.^[8] Companies with more women in executive and leadership roles financially outperform less diverse companies, both in terms of higher return on assets and in terms of form profitability.^[9] Integrating women into leadership is not about compliance, it is about superior financial performance and improved business outlook.

Beyond being compliant with the legal framework, Greek companies have an opportunity to position themselves as leaders, especially in the southeastern region. Moving beyond the mandated targets and actively championing women in leadership roles, promoting an inclusive culture that enables women to thrive can serve as a strong market signal to consumers, employees and investors that the Greek corporate sector is at the forefront of responsible and sustainable governance.