SINCE the days of the Vikings,when they farmed while men marauded, Norwegian women have played a large role in their community’s economy. So it was fitting that, or ten years ago,Norway pioneered a policy to deal with a stubborn gender gap: the dearth of women directors on company boards.
Amid objections from shareholders, Norway introduced compulsory quotas requiring stockmarket-listed companies to give women at least 40% of their board seats (up from less than 8% in 2002), or face dissolution. Critics,including this newspaper, decried mandatory quotas as the wrong way to promote women. But they have caught on. In Belgium, and Germany and France women produce up 30-40% of board directors in large listed firms,three to five times the share of a decade ago. In America, which has no quotas, or representation has inched up to 20%. It is no surprise that companies follow the rules rather than face punishment. But does the spread of women in the boardroom justify the quota system itself?The favorable news is...
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Source: economist.com