Diversity and the Board of Directors: A Comparative Perspective

Abstract

When Norwegian feminist activists began militating for a corporate board quota in 1999, nobody would have predicted that, fifteen years after its adoption in 2003 that most of the top ten world economies would follow suit. Norway’s statute took a clear, new direction for corporate governance and for equality law in two respects: 1) the central role that the private sector plays in determining questions of equality, and 2) the responsibility of the state to ensure that the private sector would rectify entrenched discrimination. The rapid adoption of quotas has feminized boards across Europe but also has exposed challenges in implementation. Hard quotas may result in short-term fixes that are less than ideal, but softer quotas, such as comply-or-explain regimes, may fail to achieve inclusion. Drawing on existing social science data, this Chapter examines the development of quotas in both common and civil law systems. It draws contrasts to assess the efficacy of these statutes. This Chapter suggests new directions that quotas may take as the urgency of inclusion mounts.