Women On Corporate Boards And In Top Management: European Trends And Policy (work And Welfare In Eur

This book examines the international trends and associated developments in gender equality policy including corporate governance such as gender quotas. International comparative analysis is combined with detailed analysis of eight European countries with different policy regimes and trajectories. Has women's presence on company boards and in other top management positions improved? And in which countries and types of organization has most progress towards gender parity been made? This book provides an international comparative analysis of the trends and evaluates gender equality policy developments, including those focused on corporate governance, such as the use of gender quotas for board membership. It includes detailed analysis using new data from eight European countries strategically selected because of their different policy frameworks and trajectories with regard to welfare, employment and promoting gender equality: Norway, Sweden, Finland, the UK, France, Spain, Hungary and Slovenia. Developments in women's presence in top management jobs are considered in relation to the broader gender structuring of the labour market and political life. Policy debates and developments to redress women's under-representation in this arena are examined and evaluated and theoretically informed explanations are advanced, which emphasize the influence of national institutional settings and policy regimes, over and above market forces, even at this elite level of the employment hierarchy Front Matter....Pages i-xix Introduction....Pages 1-17 Women on Boards in Europe: Past, Present and Future....Pages 18-42 The Women on Boards in Europe Project: Aims, Methodology and Implications....Pages 43-69 Gender Quotas for Corporate Boards in Norway: Innovative Gender Equality Policy....Pages 70-90 Surge Under Threat: The Rapid Increase of Women on Swedish Boards of Directors....Pages 91-108 Individual Competence and Official Support: Women on Company Boards in Finland....Pages 109-127 Women’s Representation on the Boards of UK-Listed Companies....Pages 128-149 Women in Top Management in France: A Time of Change?....Pages 150-168 Spain on the Norwegian Pathway: Towards a Gender-Balanced Presence of Women on Corporate Boards....Pages 169-197 Women’s Under-Representation in Top Management Jobs in Slovenia: New and Persisting Barriers for Younger Generations of Women....Pages 198-220 Women in Management: The Hungarian Case....Pages 221-244 Conclusions....Pages 245-258 Back Matter....Pages 259-288