Poland obliges listed issuers to report board gender balance

Poland has moved to implement the European Union’s gender-balance rules for listed companies, requiring stock-exchange issuers to report the gender composition of their governing bodies. The Minister of Finance and Economy signed a regulation on 7 September 2026, published in Dziennik Ustaw of 14 September 2026 (item 1205), which amends the rules on current and periodic information disclosed by securities issuers.

The regulation transposes Directive (EU) 2022/2381 of 23 November 2022 on improving the gender balance among directors of listed companies and related measures (OJ L 315, 7.12.2022, p. 44). It amends the earlier regulation of 6 June 2025 on issuers’ current and periodic information, adopted on the basis of Article 60(2) of the Act of 29 July 2005 on public offering and the conditions for introducing financial instruments to organised trading.

New disclosure duties in the corporate governance statement

The core change extends the corporate governance statement that listed issuers must publish. Issuers subject to Chapter 4aa of the public-offering act that apply a diversity policy must now set out, in a separate part of the statement, the number of persons holding positions in the issuer’s governing bodies during the reporting period, together with their gender and the type of position held.

Where an issuer has not reached the target for the underrepresented gender, it must explain the reasons for the shortfall and describe the measures already taken and planned to reach it. Issuers that do not apply a diversity policy must still present the same gender data in a separate part of the statement, and the same obligation applies to issuers not covered by the diversity-policy provision.

Scope and entry into force

The new duties take effect for annual and consolidated annual reports covering reporting periods beginning in 2026, submitted from the date the regulation enters into force. The regulation itself enters into force 14 days after its publication in the official gazette.

• Issuing body: Minister of Finance and Economy (signed by A. Domański)
• Legal basis: Article 60(2) of the Act of 29 July 2005 on public offering
• Amended act: regulation of 6 June 2025 on issuers’ current and periodic information
• EU source: Directive (EU) 2022/2381 of 23 November 2022

Why it matters

The measure gives Polish listed companies a concrete, enforceable reporting framework for boardroom gender balance, aligning domestic practice with the EU directive’s transparency requirements. For investors and the public, the new disclosures will make the gender composition of corporate leadership visible and comparable, supporting the directive’s broader goal of a more balanced representation of women and men in the governance of listed companies.

Source: Dziennik Ustaw, No. 2026, item 1205, 14 September 2026, section I (official reference: Dz.U. 2026 poz. 1205).