Affirmative action programs applicable to the 32 European countries our sample of directors comes from.

The binding gender quotas in our study are a form of hard law requiring public firms to meet gender diversity requirements. If the gender diversity requirements are not met, firms face sanctions. The non-binding gender targets in our study are a form of soft laws under which public firms may meet gender diversity targets. If the gender diversity targets are not met, firms do not face any sanctions. Columns Quota % in Panel A and Target % in Panel B report the percentage of board gender representation laid out by the affirmative action program. n.s. indicates that a percentage of gender representation has not been specified. Passage year indicates the year when the affirmative action program was passed. The column labeled Notes provides information on sanctions for binding gender quotas (Panel A), and the recommendations for non-binding gender targets (Panel B). Note that Germany, Belgium and France first passed non-binding gender targets and then switched to binding gender quotas.