Why Not Corporate Gender Quotas in Sweden?

Freidenvall, Lenita; Hallonsten, Hanna

doi:10.1080/00344893.2013.859349

Cited by 9 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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Section: Theoretical and Empirical Review Of Board Gender Diversity A...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Quotas, especially mandatory quotas, were seen as a faster way to increase the number of women on boards (Chandler, 2016; Dahlerup and Friedenvall, 2005; De Vita and Magliocco, 2018; Freidenvall and Hallonsten, 2013; Teigen, 2012). “The fast track discourse means that the focus has moved from equal opportunity to equal results” (Friedenvall and Hallonsten, 2013, p. 474). However, although quotas are seen as a fast track to gender equality (Choudhury, 2014), they could be based on symbolic effort and result in tokenism (Piscopo and Muntean, 2018; Stafsudd, 2006); it is, therefore, essential that organisations appoint women to corporate boards for the right reasons (Ely and Thomas, 2001) – a safeguard which is implicit in much of the legislation on mandatory gender quotas.…”

Section: Theoretical and Empirical Review Of Board Gender Diversity A...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…, 2009; Chandler, 2016; Hughes and Paxton, 2008; Krook, 2009; Piscopo and Muntean, 2018), science (Ding et al. , 2006; Vernos, 2013) or on major corporate boards of directors – the focus of this study (Dolgin, 2017; Freidenvall and Hallonsten. 2013; Hamdani and Buckley, 2011; Meier, 2013; Piscopo and Muntean, 2018; Velkova, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Board gender diversity and women in leadership positions – are quotas the solution?

Hamplová

Janeček

Lefley

2022

CCIJ

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PurposeThe question has been asked, “Where are the women?” explicitly looking at the public relations (PR) industry, but this is a broader issue reflected in many senior management roles, especially at the corporate board level. One of the solutions suggested is “quotas”. This paper explores the literature to identify the prominent arguments for and against representation regulations (quotas) concerning corporate board gender diversity and concisely presents the findings.Design/methodology/approachThe exploratory research path first focuses on a literature search using the keywords – “gender diversity”, “board structures” and “female traits” to identify the various issues concerning female members serving on corporate boards. This led to the investigation exploring if 'quotas' could play a role in increasing the number of female directors and, if so, what kind of impact this would have. When the authors discovered the paper by Place and Vardeman-Winter (2018), it was realised that a possible gap in the literature might have been identified. The focus then turned to the PR and corporate communications literature, where it was discovered that the issue of gender quotas was not explored. This paper brings together the germane literature from a wide range of disciplines. To obtain a broad perspective of the arguments, the authors conducted a review of this diverse field of literature through various databases and websites, including Scopus, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, Google Scholar, publishers' databases such as Emerald Insight, Taylor and Francis, Macmillan, Blackwell, Oxford University, etc.FindingsThere are solid arguments both for and against quotas. However, many opposing views appear to be less sound than the positive ones, which allowed the authors to concur in favour of quotas and the broader adoption of female directors. It is only by identifying problems that solutions can be found – the issues concerning corporate board gender quotas relate to the perception of the arguments for and against quotas; the reality is often different. While there is a strong “business case” and “stakeholder influence” for the inclusion of women on corporate boards, some governments have put further pressure (either voluntary or mandatory) on organisations by imposing a “quota” system. At the same time, other countries are undecided on what action, if any, to take.Practical implicationsThis paper can serve as guidance to countries that have not yet implemented quotas or those looking to move from a voluntary to mandatory quotas system. In addition to that, the paper should be valuable to academics, managers, regulators, legislators and policy-makers.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors knowledge, this is the first academic paper to present the critical arguments raised in the diverse literature on corporate board gender quotas succinctly and concisely and, therefore, adds value to the literature. It is also believed to be the first paper to address the issue of quotas in the PR and corporate communications literature.

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Section: Theoretical and Empirical Review Of Board Gender Diversity A...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Theoretical and Empirical Review Of Board Gender Diversity A...mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Board gender diversity and women in leadership positions – are quotas the solution?

Hamplová

Janeček

Lefley

2022

CCIJ

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“…Unlike the political sector, the private sector has for a long time not been part of the political debate on gender equality in Sweden (Freidenvall & Hallonsten, 2013). The low proportion of women in decision-making positions in private companies was considered a matter for the business sector itself.…”

Section: Regulation In the Economic Sector In Swedenmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The issue of corporate gender quotas thus came to a halt (Nilsson, 2009). Rather than proposing quotas, the Alliance government proposed a series of initiatives to promote women leaders (Freidenvall & Hallonsten, 2013). For instance, a national board programme for women was established in 2009 to promote women for leadership functions.…”

Section: To Adopt Corporate Quotas or Not?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Gender Quota Spill-Over in Sweden: From Politics to Business?

Freidenvall

2015

SSRN Journal

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Programme under the scientific coordination of Professors Ruth Rubio-Marín and Eléonore Lépinard. Gender quotas are part of a global trend to improve women's representation in decision-making bodies. In the past decade they have often been extended in terms of the numbers to be reached (40 or 50% instead of 30%), and in terms of the social field they should apply to (from politics to the economy to the administration). The aim of the project is to assess and analyse this global trend in the European context, comparing the adoption (or resistance to) gender quotas in 13 European countries in the fields of electoral politics, corporate boards and public bodies. The case-studies in this series consider the legal struggles and political mobilisation around Gender Quotas in Austria,

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Sweden: Work for Change and Political Threats

Holgersson

Wahl

2017

Gender Diversity in the Boardroom

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Why Not Corporate Gender Quotas in Sweden?

Cited by 9 publications

References 5 publications

Board gender diversity and women in leadership positions – are quotas the solution?

Board gender diversity and women in leadership positions – are quotas the solution?

Gender Quota Spill-Over in Sweden: From Politics to Business?

Sweden: Work for Change and Political Threats

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