Board Index

The half in which the EU board gender directive fell due, measured against the Listeds board composition dataset. Women's share of board seats rose 1.3 points. The share of female chairs fell from 12.0% to 10.7%.

According to the Board Index — Finland H1 2026 study by Listeds and Admincontrol, women's share of board seats on Nasdaq Helsinki rose from 33.6% to 34.9% over the first half of the year. The gain was 1.3 percentage points in six months, continuing the upward trend that began in 2022 (28.2%). 30 June 2026 was the compliance deadline for the EU directive on gender balance on the boards of listed companies (Directive (EU) 2022/2381). The largest single-year gain, however, came in 2025, when the share climbed 3.0 points from 30.6% to 33.6% — a full year before the deadline took effect.

The 40% target applies to a narrower group than the market average covers

The market-wide average still falls short of the directive's 40% target. The directive's obligations, however, apply only to companies above certain size thresholds — in Finland, more than 250 employees and either a balance sheet above €43 million or turnover above €50 million — whereas the Board Index figures cover the whole of Nasdaq Helsinki and the First North market. In the Large Cap segment, which comes closest to the group in scope, the threshold was passed: women held 42.0% of board seats at the end of June. Market-cap segment is an approximation rather than the legal test: some Mid Cap companies clear the employee and turnover thresholds, while a few Large Cap companies with small workforces do not. The lowest shares sit in small companies and on First North, which are largely outside the directive's scope.

One woman on the board is no longer enough

The change over the first half was not only a matter of volume. The emphasis shifted from appointing a first woman to filling more than one seat: the share of companies with only one woman on the board fell from 26.2% to 21.9%. At the same time, the share of companies where more than 40% of directors are women rose from 24.0% to 27.8%.

By segment, the largest step was taken in Small Cap companies, where women's share rose from 29.6% to 32.4%. First North remains the most male-dominated market segment: women hold just 27.5% of board seats there. By industry, the sharpest gains came in consumer staples (36.1% → 40.0%) and technology (29.5% → 32.9%). Real estate remains the least gender-diverse industry, with women at 25.0%.

Eight all-male boards — and fewer female chairs than before

One indicator stood still, the other turned down. The number of all-male boards remained at eight companies (4.4% → 4.3% of companies), and all of them are Small Cap or First North companies: Digitalist Group, Dovre Group, Eagle Filters Group, Norrhydro Group, Pallas Air, Summa Defence, Sunborn International and Titanium.

The share of female chairs fell from 12.0% (22 companies) to 10.7% (20 companies). Progress in board membership has therefore not yet reached the head of the table.

At the other end of the range, a group of companies has reached or passed gender parity. The highest shares of women were at Suominen (66.7%), Aktia Bank and Verkkokauppa.com (both 57.1%) and Huhtamäki (55.6%). Fiskars, Kempower, Orion, Stora Enso, Administer and Modulight landed at exactly 50%.

Internationalisation did not move at all

The nationality mix was entirely unchanged: Finnish nationals held 77.3% of board seats both at the start and at the close of the half. In every reading since 2022 the figure has sat between 77% and 78%. The only real movement in the series came in 2025, when the Finnish share fell from 78.2% to 77.3%.

Internationalisation is concentrated in a small number of large companies and in certain industries. The most international industries are telecommunications (44.1% Finnish), health care (61.9%) and energy (62.5%). Among market segments, Large Cap is the most international (58.4% Finnish). The most domestic industries are consumer staples (88.0%) and industrials (85.3%); among segments, Small Cap (87.8%) and First North (86.1%). The internationalisation of Finnish listed companies' business has not carried through to their board composition, and new listings still arrive on the exchange with largely all-domestic boards.

“Finnish listed companies are internationalising their business faster than their boards. If a company's growth comes from outside its home market, the board should include at least one director who has relevant business experience from that market. Today's digital board meeting systems make high-quality, frictionless board work possible across borders as well.”

Average age edged down

The average age of boards fell from 57.6 to 57.0 years over the half. Across the full series, however, boards have aged: the average has risen from 55.7 years at the end of 2022, with the sharpest single move — up 1.1 years — in 2025 alone. Millennials (born 1980–1999) rose from 12.0% to 12.2% of board seats, and directors under 50 from 18.1% to 18.5%. The share of companies with no millennial director fell from 50.3% to 47.1%.

Even the youngest boards sit at or above 45 years of age. The only exception is Talenom, whose board has a calculated average age of 40.8 years and where 80.0% of directors are millennials.

Most of the adjustment came before the deadline, not because of it

Progress over the first half was broader than regulation alone requires, as shares also rose outside the directive's size thresholds. The open question is whether it continues without a deadline attached to it. The pattern in the data suggests much of the adjustment was anticipatory: the largest annual gain came in 2025, before the deadline, and the pace roughly halved in the half when compliance actually fell due.

“Diversity is measured by gender, nationality and age because those are measurable. A board's real capability, however, is a question of expertise: does the board's expertise match the tactics and the strategy the company intends to execute over the coming years. Composition is only the starting point. Diverse board work is not automatically effective, because different perspectives produce better decisions only if the way the board works lets them reach the table.”

Summary

Read the full index: Board Index — Finland | H1 2026

Momentum on gender, a standstill on nationality

Women held 33.6% of board seats on 1 January and 34.9% by 30 June — a 1.3-point gain in six months, on top of the longer climb from 28.2% in 2022. Most of that climb happened in 2025, when the share jumped 3.0 points — the largest annual move in the series, and a full year before the compliance deadline. Boards with only one woman fell from 26.2% to 21.9% of the market, while boards above the 40% mark rose from 24.0% to 27.8%. Representation is broadening beyond a single seat. Yet the count of all-male boards held flat at eight companies, all of them Small Cap or First North, and the share of women serving as chair slipped from 12.0% (22 companies) to 10.7% (20 companies) — progress in membership has not yet reached the top of the table.

Nationality diversity did not move: Finnish nationals held 77.3% of seats at both the start and end of the period. The figure has sat between 77.3% and 78.2% in every reading since 2022, and the only real move was a 0.9-point fall in the Finnish share during 2025. Internationalisation stays concentrated in a handful of large, global companies and in telecommunications, health care and energy, while industrials, technology and consumer staples remain overwhelmingly domestic. Average board age eased from 57.6 to 57.0 over the half, though boards are older than they were: the average has climbed from 55.7 in 2022, and millennial representation ticked up from 12.0% to 12.2% — renewal at the margin, not in structure.

From a single seat toward balance

The half shows continued momentum rather than a plateau, with the character of change shifting from "adding a first woman" toward "moving past a single seat." Women rose from 33.6% to 34.9% of all board seats, and the share of boards above 40% women climbed from 24.0% to 27.8%. The pace, however, has slowed: the 3.0-point gain in 2025 was more than double the 1.3 points added in H1 2026. The persistence of eight all-male boards and the dip in female chairs mark where progress has not reached: the smallest companies, and the most senior board role.

Boards with only one woman fell from 26.2% to 21.9% of companies; boards above 40% women rose from 24.0% to 27.8%. All-male boards held flat at eight companies (4.4% to 4.3% of the market). Female chairs slipped from 12.0% (22 companies) to 10.7% (20 companies).

Still stalled

Finnish nationals accounted for 77.3% of seats at both start and end of the period — no meaningful change. The figure has held between 77.3% and 78.2% in every reading since 2022; the only real move came in 2025, when the Finnish share fell from 78.2% to 77.3%. The most international industries are telecommunications (44.1% Finnish), health care (61.9%), and energy (62.5%) among market segments, Large Cap is the most international (58.4%). The most domestic industries are consumer staples (88.0%) and industrials (85.3%); among segments, Small Cap (87.8%) and First North (86.1%). Despite the continued global expansion of Finnish issuers, board internationalisation has not followed, and new listings still tend to arrive with fully domestic boards.

“Finnish listed companies are internationalising their business faster than their boards. If a company's growth comes from outside its home market, the board should include at least one director who has relevant business experience from that market. Today's digital board meeting systems make high-quality, frictionless board work possible across borders as well.”

Older over four years, marginally younger this half

Average board age eased from 57.6 to 57.0 over the half, and millennials (born 1980–1999) rose from 12.0% to 12.2% of seats. Over the full series, however, boards have aged by 1.3 years — from 55.7 at the end of 2022. Directors under 50 rose from 18.1% to 18.5%. Companies with no millennial director fell from 50.3% to 47.1% — still nearly half. Boardrooms remain anchored around directors in their late fifties.

“Diversity is measured by gender, nationality and age because those are measurable. A board's real capability, however, is a question of expertise: does the board's expertise match the tactics and the strategy the company intends to execute over the coming years. Composition is only the starting point. Diverse board work is not automatically effective, because different perspectives produce better decisions only if the way the board works lets them reach the table.”

Large Cap leads, First North lags

Large Cap companies continue to lead on gender and nationality, reaching 42.0% women by 30 June against 58.4% Finnish — the most balanced and most international segment. Small Cap posted the largest H1 gender gain of any segment (29.6% → 32.4%) and has the highest share of Finnish board members (87.8%), while First North remains the most homogeneous segment — the lowest share of women (27.5%) alongside the second-highest Finnish share (86.1%). By industry, consumer staples and technology posted the sharpest gender gains (36.1% → 40.0% and 29.5% → 32.9% respectively), and real estate remains the least gender-diverse at 25.0% women.

Gender — leaders and all-male boards, 30 June 2026

The ten highest of sixteen companies at or above 50% female representation, spanning large caps and small caps alike.

Eight companies still reported all-male boards. All of those are either First North or small cap companies.

Nationality, age and generational outliers

Companies with the lowest share of Finnish directors are not all the same case. Telia and Tallink Grupp are foreign-domiciled, where a fully non-Finnish board follows from where the company sits. Citycon is the more instructive one: a Finnish-domiciled Oyj that lost its last Finnish director inside this half, when its April AGM cut the board from ten seats to eight. Three of the eight remaining directors are tied to G City, the Israeli controlling shareholder. The board is not internationalising — it is consolidating around its owner.

Telia Company and Tallink Grupp are foreign-domiciled companies with secondary listings, included because the dataset covers Nasdaq Helsinki and First North Growth Market Finland listings regardless of country of domicile.

Even the youngest boards cluster at or above 45 — Talenom, at 40.8, is the only exception, underlining how rare a truly young board remains in the Finnish market.

Highest millennial representation

What the next reading will test

The gains ran ahead of what the rule required. Women hold 34.9% of board seats across the market and 42.0% in Large Cap, but the lowest shares sit in small caps and on First North — the segments largely outside the directive's size thresholds.

The open question is whether it continues without a deadline attached to it. Three things to watch: whether the eight all-male boards change at the 2027 AGMs, whether the female-chair share recovers the two chair positions it lost, and whether nationality moves at all after four years of essentially flat readings.

Risks 2026–2028

• A falling female-chair share suggests the pipeline into board leadership, not only membership, needs attention

• Persistently domestic boards may weigh on international competitiveness

• A director base still anchored in its late fifties poses succession questions

• Most of the four-year gender gain landed in 2025, before the deadline; the H1 2026 pace was roughly half that. Whether the trend survives the deadline is the question the next reading answers

Opportunities 2026–2028

• The 34.9% market average masks a working model: Large Cap already sits at 42.0%, so the pipeline exists — it has not reached the smaller segments

• The most international boards sit in the most international industries — telecommunications at 44.1% Finnish, Large Cap segment at 58.4%. Board composition follows the business

At a glance