“Norway was the first country to introduce quotas, and so far it is the country with the greatest success in reaching the goal of 40 percent female representation on boards.”
One of the main trends we found was that gender quotas for boards are closely tied to the country’s history of institutional awareness of gender equality. The higher the percentage of women in the labour force, and the more state gender equality initiatives the country has implemented, the more likely it is that quotas will be used as a political measure,” says Terjesen.
“Countries with a tradition of more left-wing governments and generally more state intervention in the economy are more likely to introduce gender quotas. This is why it has been easier to introduce quotas in Norway and France than in the UK or the US.”
She points out that in order for quotas to be effective, the idea of gender quotas must have legitimacy in the political culture at large.
“Norway was the first country to introduce quotas, and so far it is the country with the greatest success in reaching the goal of 40 percent female representation on boards.”
“What happens in a boardroom with a higher percentage of women? What difference does it make?”
“We see that female representation makes a difference only when a critical mass is reached,” says Terjesen.
She found that this critical mass is achieved at one-third female representation – that is, 33 percent or more women on a board.
“If the percentage is lower than this, the effect is little more than symbolic. It is when women feel that there are several of them, that they are not sitting alone at the table, that they begin to exercise their power.”
“It’s very difficult to isolate female representation on boards as an individual phenomenon, and based on that draw conclusions about a company’s performance in general, especially in the short term,” explains Terjesen.
“Studies show, however, that boards that meet the quota requirement report having better discussions and more productive conversations. Women often come onto board with more wide-ranging experience and a broader employment background than men, and studies show that they ask tougher questions and are more concerned with challenging the status quo.”
Terjesen also says that female board members report a higher degree of satisfaction after quotas were introduced.
“They also say that they identify more with the board and their role as a board member on both a professional and a personal level.”
