Colombia recorded 25.6% women’s representation on corporate boards in 2025, the Club del 30% chapter in Colombia reported Monday, marking the highest rate in Latin America, though still below levels in countries such as the United Kingdom, Norway, France, and several other European Union countries.
The figure, compiled by the Centro de Estudios en Gobierno Corporativo (CEGC) using data from Colombia’s Superintendencia de Sociedades (Supersociedades), covers 129 listed issuers. Boardroom female participation rose from 23.1% a year earlier to 25.6% this year, CEGC said. The report found 220 women now hold board seats, and 24 boards recorded no female participation.
“The participation of at least 30% women on boards ensures a more comprehensive vision, brings different perspectives and contributes to improved profitability, corporate reputation and a stronger ESG agenda,” Monica Contreras, chair of Club del 30% Colombia, said at an event in Bogota. She noted that female representation has climbed from 15% in 2018 to today’s level and that the organization aims to reach 27.6% in 2026.
Representation of women on corporate boards in Colombia rose by 2.5 percentage points
The club and CEGC presented the findings at a forum hosted by the Bogota Chamber of Commerce titled “Club 30, Colombia, ¿cómo vamos?” The groups credited progress over the past year, a 2.5 percentage-point increase in 2025, to support from major business groups, corporate leaders, academia, and executive-search firms. The report said the average annual growth in female board representation has been about 1.5 percentage points.
During the past 12 months, 48 women have joined boards of listed companies in Colombia, the study found, but 24 boards remain all-male. Contreras said Colombia is considering whether to introduce quota laws or continue advancing through training, mentorship, and visibility programs that prepare women for corporate governance roles.
The Club del 30% recognized companies that met or exceeded a 30% threshold in the past year, including AngloGold Ashanti Colombia, Bancolombia, Credibanco, El Colombiano, Grupo Energia Bogota, MasterCard, Oleoducto de Colombia, Procafecol, TGI, and Visa.
According to Harvard, companies with higher proportions of women in executive committees post stronger returns
The report cited research from Harvard and McKinsey showing that companies with higher proportions of women in executive committees posted stronger returns: Firms with greater female representation in executive teams recorded a 47% higher return on equity compared with companies without women executives, the presentation said.
Advocates and business leaders at the Bogota event emphasized continuing efforts to build candidate pipelines and to make women more visible for board roles, while debating the relative merits of regulatory quotas versus voluntary programs of formation and mentorship.
Contreras said the goal is to keep combining those strategies to close the roughly four-point gap to the Club’s longer-term 30% target.