Document Type
Working Paper
Date of this Version
2017
Advisor
Matthew Bidwell
Abstract
With the increased attention given to corporate governance, there has been more of a focus on the lack of gender diversity in boardrooms. Within the context of corporate governance, this project studies the impacts of gender diversity initiatives for boardrooms. The thesis focuses on the path that women take to the boardroom and on how gender diversity initiatives affect the dimensions of that path. Gender diversity initiatives in both Norway and in the United Kingdom are studied, but the analysis narrows down and focuses on the Norwegian experience and the impacts of the Norwegian board quota. By analysing interviews with a broad range of participants in Norway, the thesis gives a qualitative view to the dimensions of the path to the boardroom through four themes: the role of formal mechanisms in the recruitment process, the assumptions related to the ideal board member, the emergence of new elite networks, and the transition from executive to board careers. These themes contribute to the literature on board recruitment and boardroom diversity. Finally, they serve as reference points for examining the current research on gender diversity in boardrooms and for starting new research.
Keywords
Board recruitment, Board diversity, Social networks, Norwegian quota law, Women on Boards
Included in
Business Administration, Management, and Operations Commons, Business Law, Public Responsibility, and Ethics Commons, Finance and Financial Management Commons, Human Resources Management Commons, International Business Commons
Date Posted: 24 October 2017