The global landscape of gender quotas on corporate boards : contexts for adoption and opposition in 2014

There has been an acceleration in the adoption of gender quotas on boards since Norway pioneered legislation in 2003. Countries that have made parallel reforms have primarily been in the western European bloc, while other countries have displayed strong resistance to this measure. The reasons underlying support and resistance have been argued across the globe, and their consistent application raises questions about why certain countries have been more aggressive in adopting quotas, compared to those that continue to resist. This paper aims to understand some of the national contexts of these countries. In doing so, a theoretical framework is applied using a selection of factors that may facilitate understanding and simplifying complexities within each polity. In addressing what common factors and disparities exist within and between countries that have adopted quotas compared to those that continue to oppose, potential implications for policy makers such as the use of critical junctures and the media become apparent.

Department dc:contributor.department

Sloan School of Management.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2014

Author dc:creator

• Park, Jacqueline, S.M. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Roberto Fernandez.

• Sloan School of Management.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/90737

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/90737