In 2025, the proportion of women in boards of four members or more of companies with 50 employees or more was 43.4% for public limited companies and 36.9% for private limited companies. The corresponding proportions in 2024 were 41.9% and 38.9%, respectively.
In boards of directors with three members, the proportion was 33.3% for public limited companies and 35.7% for private limited companies. The corresponding proportions in 2024 were 33.3% and 32.5%, respectively. On the other hand, for private limited companies with two board members, the proportion was 28.6%, decreasing from 22.8% in 2024.
Over the last two decades, there has been a general steady increase in the proportion of women in boards of directors, varying slightly from year to year for different types of boards of directors. This can be seen in the increase in the proportion of women in boards of large companies, irrespective of the type of company and the number of board members, except for a decrease in the proportion of women in boards of private limited companies with 4 board members or more. The proportion of women in boards of directors increases with both the size of the boards of directors, and size of the companies measured in number of employees, and it is higher in public limited companies than in private limited companies.
Mixed gender proportion in boards of directors
Looking at companies of 50 employees or more, there was a year-on-year increase in the share of companies with a mixed board of directors ranging from 0.7 to 7.4 percentage points. An exception is for private limited companies with 4 board members or more, where the share of companies with over 40% female board members decreased from 80.9% to 78.8%. In the case of public limited companies with 4 or more board members, 90.7% of companies had a gender ratio of 40%-60%.
The greatest increase was for private limited companies with 2 board members, where the proportion of boards that contained both men and women increased from 45.6% to 53.1%. This is the first time that more than half of private limited companies with 2 board members have members of both sexes as board members.
In 2010, a law was passed for companies of 50 employees or more which stated that when there are three board members, the board should contain both men and women, and for boards of four or more members, the proportion of women should be 40%-60%. This law dealt with both public and private limited companies, cooperative societies and unlimited partnerships. In the case of private limited companies, the law furthermore stated that boards of directors having two board members should also contain a man and a woman. This law came into effect in September 2013.
Managers and chairs of the board
The proportion of women as managers of enterprises in 2025 was 24.5%, continuing a slight but steady increase since 1999. Proportion of women as chairs of the board was 25.2% in 2025.
One individual with gender-neutral/other registration was registered as a manager in 2025. Also, there were three registered board members with gender-neutral/other registration on boards of directors of Icelandic companies in 2025, thereof two as chairman of the board.
Figures on the number of chairs and members of boards of directors and managing directors are published by gender and age, economic activity and company size, and figures on board members are also published by legal form and number of board members. Since the last publication, more detailed data on business activity in 2024 has been added and previous figures updated accordingly.