Getting Women on to Corporate Boards

Machold, Silke; Huse, Morten; Hansen, Katrin; Brogi, Marina

doi:10.4337/9781782547945

Cited by 26 publications

(13 citation statements)

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“…Individuals, organizations, governments, and societies have differing, often juxtaposed, rationales and logics which subsequently create ethical tensions for organizations and their leaders. Although some scholars implicitly address how quotas create tensions (e.g., Machold et al, 2013), there is no systematic attempt to describe and categorize these tensions. To review the literature on quotas, we follow Smith, Gonin, and Besharov (2013) in identifying three key tensions in how quotas are discussed and (re)presented: the motivations for quotas, including political ideologies; legitimacy in terms of meritocracy and ethics; and outcomes of implementing quotas for society, organizations, and individuals; and draw on four theoretical perspectives: institutional, stakeholder, social identity, and social capital.…”

Section: Historical Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Prominent institutional entrepreneurs leverage resources to “break with the rules and practices associated with the dominant institutional logics and practices” (Battilana, 2006: 657), and can manage conflicting institutional logics to change the status quo (Smith, Besharov, Wessels, & Chertok, 2012). There are many institutional entrepreneurs who championed the Norwegian quota including Trade Minister Gabrielsen and Gender Minister Valgerd Svarstad Haugland (Machold, 2013; Terjesen et al, 2015). In the UK, former minister Lord Davies personally cajoles individual CEOs and Chairs to balance their boards, and entrepreneurs such as Virgin founder Richard Branson now offer support for quotas (Branson, R., 2012; Velkova, 2015).…”

Section: Directions For Future Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Three country-level institutions precede quotas: “the female labor market and gendered welfare policies, left-leaning government coalitions, and a legacy of path dependent gender equality initiatives in public policy and corporate governance codes” (Terjesen et al, 2015: 233). Countries with quotas have institutions aligned with mixed market economies (i.e., France, Italy, Spain) or coordinated market economies (i.e., Belgium, Finland, Norway), and legal systems of Scandinavian (i.e., Finland, Iceland, Norway) or French (i.e., Belgium, France, Italy, Spain) origin (Machold & Hansen, 2013).…”

Section: Conflicting Tensions Concerning Board Gender Quotasmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Subsequently, fourteen countries established quotas, and seventeen countries instituted voluntary codes for female representation on boards (Terjesen, Aguilera, & Lorenz, 2015; see Appendix A). The Norwegian quota is described as a “snowball” (Machold et al, 2013) gathering momentum that some feel as a “threatening avalanche . .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Board Gender Quotas: Exploring Ethical Tensions From A Multi-Theoretical Perspective

2016

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This is the accepted version of the paper.This version of the publication may differ from the final published version. Abstract: Despite 40 years of equal opportunities policies and more than two decades of government and organization initiatives aimed at helping women reach the upper echelons of the corporate world, women are seriously underrepresented on corporate boards. Recently, fifteen countries sought to redress this imbalance by introducing gender quotas for board representation. The introduction of board gender quota legislation creates ethical tensions and dilemmas which we categorize in terms of motivations, legitimacy, and outcomes. We investigate these tensions through four overarching theoretical perspectives: institutional, stakeholder, social identity, and social capital. We outline a future research agenda based on how these tensions offer greater focus to research on quotas and more broadly to ethics and diversity in organizations in terms of theory, anticipated ethical tensions, data, and methodology. In sum, our review seeks to synthesize existing multidisciplinary research and stimulate future enquiry on this expanding set of legislation. Permanent repository link

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Section: Historical Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Directions For Future Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Conflicting Tensions Concerning Board Gender Quotasmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Board Gender Quotas: Exploring Ethical Tensions From A Multi-Theoretical Perspective

2016

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“…The introduction in Norway of quotas for women on corporate boards has had great impact internationally, with advanced industrial countries either legislating quotas or opting for significant and strategic voluntary targets for women's participation on corporate boards (Machold et al 2013Teigen 2012a. A recurring question is whether this will fundamentally change the position of women in work, or simply enhance the career structure of a few fortunate women (Seierstad and Opsahl 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Advancing Women in Leadership: Multi-Level Targets and Mandatory Quotas Impact on Cultural Change

Clarke

Klettner

2014

AMPROC

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The developing worldwide movement for gender equality has focused in recent years on the participation of women at the pinnacle of organisations, in boards of directors and senior executive ranks. A recurring question is whether this will fundamentally change the position of women in work, or simply enhance the career structure of a few fortunate women? This paper contributes to the literature by taking the analysis beyond the form of regulation used by governments, to the behavioural changes they hope to effect. The paper informs regulatory theory by exploring the potential effects of voluntary self regulation compared to mandatory regulation. Following an analysis of the case for and against quotas and targets, we argue that if the regulatory objective is to stimulate cultural change within corporations, a flexible, voluntary regime could in some circumstances be more effective than a mandatory quota system. Yet no approach is likely to be effective unless there is in place a solid platform of provision for women's continuing participation in the labour force including affordable and accessible child-care, supportive taxation measures, and equal opportunity policies.

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Toward sustainable corporate behavior: The effect of the critical mass of female directors on environmental, social, and governance disclosure

et al. 2021

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Boards of directors have recently become more attentive to their stakeholders' concerns, providing more transparent information and adopting more sustainable business strategies. This study investigates the influence of a critical mass of women on boards on the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosure score and its three components separately. Using a sample of the FTSE-MIB listed companies in the 2005-2017 period, we show that reaching a critical mass of female board members-going from one or two women to at least three-enhances the level of ESG disclosure. The results also show that the critical mass of female board members has a positive influence on every component of the ESG score, with the highest contribution of women reaching the governance score. These findings provide insights to shareholders and policymakers and suggest that a critical mass of female board members is particularly effective in improving transparency, and it can be seen as a mechanism to transit to stakeholder governance, fostering more sustainable behavior in firms.

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Getting Women on to Corporate Boards

Cited by 26 publications

References 0 publications

Board Gender Quotas: Exploring Ethical Tensions From A Multi-Theoretical Perspective

Board Gender Quotas: Exploring Ethical Tensions From A Multi-Theoretical Perspective

Advancing Women in Leadership: Multi-Level Targets and Mandatory Quotas Impact on Cultural Change

Toward sustainable corporate behavior: The effect of the critical mass of female directors on environmental, social, and governance disclosure

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