Gender Diversity and Equality in the Boardroom: Quota Implementation in Europe

Abstract

This article addresses gender imbalances in senior company board decision-making positions and analyses the effects of applying gender quotas in European countries, through comparative and interpretative data analysis.

The results clearly demonstrate that those countries implementing quotas not only return higher levels of female representation on their boards of directors – approximately 40% – but also register higher rates of growth over both countries without quotas and those with quotas but without sanctions. Results furthermore suggest that the success of any quota system deeply depends on its formulated terms, on a country's corporate culture, on social receptivity and, at the micro level, on the sector an organisation belongs to.

Citation

Sousa, M. and Santos, M.J. (2022), "Gender Diversity and Equality in the Boardroom: Quota Implementation in Europe", Crowther, D. and Seifi, S. (Ed.) The Equal Pillars of Sustainability (Developments in Corporate Governance and Responsibility, Vol. 17), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 143-169. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2043-052320220000017008