The "2012 European Board Diversity Analysis" looked at the boards of 353 of the largest companies across 17 European countries between May and June 2012. The analysis aims to contrast and compare the progress made by European companies in diversifying their boards. Data was gathered to measure how many women are engaged as board members in Europe, what is the nature of their engagement – executive roles vs. non-executive roles, leadership roles on the board or within committees – and whether women’s participation on boards has increased or decreased over time. The research also looked briefly at wider definitions of diversity such as non-national board memberships.