SMEs face trickle-down impacts of new EU gender balance rules

While small firms don't need to comply with new EU Gender Balance on Boards rules, they may still feel the impacts of the reporting obligations of their larger clients

Jillian O’Sullivan, corporate compliance partner at Grant Thornton.

Owners of SMEs risk being at a disadvantage if they fail to keep pace with competitors who track the gender balance reporting obligations of larger firms.

While smaller employers may not be obliged to comply with the EU's new Gender Balance on Boards rules, which come into effect from June 30, it is quite possible that they may be impacted by a trickle-down need to feed into the reporting obligations of the bigger companies to whom they are supplying goods and services.