Germany Approves Quota System for Women on Company Boards

Germany's Parliament on Friday approved a quota system that will require leading companies in Europe's biggest economy to have at least 30% women on their supervisory boards starting next year. The quota will apply to the directors of more than 100 listed companies, though not to their management boards. Another 3,500 firms will be required to set targets of their choosing to raise the number of female directors and women in other leadership positions. Lawmakers from Chancellor Angela Merkel's governing coalition of conservatives and Social Democrats backed the legislation Friday. Opposition lawmakers who argued that it didn't go far enough abstained.