Brussels, 15/05/2013 (Agence Europe) - European Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship Viviane Reding is holding discussions directly with the business world about her fight against the glass ceiling - which prevents women from moving into positions of responsibility. On Tuesday 14 May, Reding met Markus Klimmer, the managing director of the multinational Accenture, which already has over a third of women on its board. Klimmer spoke of his conviction that “women's participation in the labour market is (…) not only a women's or an equality issue but a question of sound economic policy”. Reding was pleased that Klimmer “and more and more men in the business world are recognising the importance of gender diversity and are supporting our objective. Key players like Accenture (…) are setting a good example which companies should follow.” She was also encouraged that “the push for gender balance on boards is gaining steam. The glass ceiling is starting to crack.” Reding notes that “the increase in the share of women on boards in Europe over the past year has been the highest yet recorded”, citing France, Italy and Denmark as examples because they have introduced legislation on women on boards. Reding again stated that “time-limited regulatory intervention can make all the difference” - just like the legislation that she presented a little under a year ago for a 40% quota of women on the non-executive boards of publicly listed companies. (MD/transl.fl)