Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-jr42d Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-18T09:17:41.901Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Women on Corporate Boards: A Comparison of Parliamentary Discourse in the United Kingdom and France

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 June 2016

Andrea Chandler
Andrea Chandler*
Affiliation:
Carleton University
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In 2013 the European Commission presented a draft directive calling for member states to increase the presence of women on corporate boards. Some countries, such as France, have taken a quota approach by passing legislation requiring corporations to increase the numbers of women on their boards over time, while the governments of other states, such as the United Kingdom, have preferred measures to encourage corporations to have more inclusive boards. While there is a growing literature on the impact that an increased presence of women can have on corporate boards, as well as a solid feminist literature on the role of quotas in political structures, there has been relatively little attention to the specific ways in which political actors have viewed the question of women on corporate boards. This article compares the ways in which quotas for women in corporate boards have been examined by the legislatures of the United Kingdom and France, with attention also to parliamentary debates in Canada and Russia. It is hypothesized that variations in political discourse help explain why conservative governments adopted such different approaches toward gender balance on corporate boards.

Type
Research Article
Information
Politics & Gender , Volume 12 , Issue 3 , September 2016 , pp. 443 - 468
Copyright
Copyright © The Women and Politics Research Section of the American Political Science Association 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Adams, Renée B., and Ferreira, Daniel. 2009. “Women in the Boardroom and Their Impact on Governance and Performance.” Journal of Financial Economics 94 (2): 291–309.Google Scholar
Armstrong, Jo, and Walby, Sylvia. 2012. Gender Quotas in Management Boards. Brussels: European Parliament, Directorate General for Internal Policies. http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/note/join/2012/462429/IPOL-FEMM_NT(2012)462429_EN.pdf (accessed May 4, 2016).Google Scholar
BBC News. 2013. “Financial Firms to Set Targets for Female Board Members.” August 11. http://www.bbc.com/news/business-23661067 (accessed September 25, 2013).Google Scholar
Blackhurt, Chris. 2014. “While Men Are in Charge, Gender Quotas Are the Only Way for More Talented Women to Make It into the Boardroom.” The Independent, January 29.Google Scholar
Blyth, Mark. 2013. Austerity: The History of a Dangerous Idea. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Brown, David A. H., Brown, Debra L., and Anastosopoulos, Vanessa. 2001. Women on Boards: Not Just the Right Thing, but the Bright Thing. Ottawa: Conference Board of Canada.Google Scholar
Bruhn, Kathleen. 2003. “Whores and Lesbians: Political Activism, Party Strategies, and Gender Quotas in Mexico.” Electoral Studies 22 (1): 101–19.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Buckler, Steve, and Dolowitz, David. 2012. “Ideology Matters: Party Competition, Ideological Positioning and the Case of the Conservative Party under David Cameron.” British Journal of Politics and International Relations 14 (4): 576–94.Google Scholar
Castle, Stephen. 2014. “Britain Warns of Loss of Momentum on Naming Women to Boards.” New York Times, April 10.Google Scholar
Chandler, Andrea. 2013. Democracy, Gender and Social Policy in Russia: A Wayward Society. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Davidson-Schmich, Louise K. 2006. “Implementation of Political Party Gender Quotas: Evidence from the German Länder, 1990–2000.” Party Politics 12 (2): 211–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Doldor, Elena, Vinnicombe, Susan, Gaughan, Mary, and Sealy, Ruth. 2012. “Gender Diversity on Boards: the Appointment Process and the Role of Executive Search Firms.” Research Report 85, Equality and Human Rights Commission. https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/sites/default/files/rr85_final.pdf (accessed May 4, 2016).Google Scholar
Driscoll, Amanda, and Krook, Mona Lena. 2012. “Feminism and Rational Choice Theory.” European Political Science Review 4 (2): 195–216.Google Scholar
Fitzsimmons, Stacey R. 2012. “Women on Boards of Directors: Why Skirts in Seats Aren't Enough.” Business Horizons 55 (6): 557–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Franceschet, Susan, and Piscopo, Jennifer M.. 2008. “Gender Quotas and Women's Substantive Representation: Lessons from Argentina.” Politics & Gender 4 (3): 393–425.Google Scholar
Fraser, Nancy. 2009. “Feminism, Capitalism and the Cunning of History.” New Left Review 56: 97–117.Google Scholar
Globe and Mail. 2013. “Turn Vagueness into Ambition.” April 8.Google Scholar
Gómez Ansón, Silvia. 2012. “Women on Boards in Europe: Past, Present and Future.” In Women on Corporate Boards and in Top Management: European Trends and Policy, eds. Fagan, Colette, González Menéndez, Maria C., and Ansón, Silvia Gómez. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 18–42.Google Scholar
Grant, Tavia. 2011. “Why Canada's Recession Wasn't as Brutal.” Globe and Mail, January 13. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy/economy-lab/why-canadas-recession-wasn't-as-brutal/article612437/ (accessed November 13, 2014).Google Scholar
Griffin, Penny. 2012. “Gendering Global Finance: Crisis, Masculinity and Responsibility.” Men and Masculinities 16 (1): 9–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gustafson, Thane. 2012. “Putin's Petroleum Problem: How Oil Is Holding Russia Back—And How It Could Save It.” Foreign Affairs 91 (6): 83–96.Google Scholar
Hawarden, Rosanne, and Stablein, Ralph E.. 2008. “New Zealand Women Directors: Many Aspire but Few Succeed.” In Women on Corporate Boards of Directors: International Research and Practice, eds. Vinnicombe, Susan, Singh, Val, Burke, Ronald J., Bilmoria, Diana, and Huse, Morten. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 57–66.Google Scholar
ITAR-TASS. 2013. “Duma otklonila zakonoproekt o kvotakh dlia zhenshchin v sovetakh direktorov AO.” November 15. http://www.itar-tass.com/ekonomika/7600086 (accessed November 27, 2013).Google Scholar
Jenkins, Kate. 2012. “Balancing Gender at the Top.” Political Quarterly 83 (4): 726–29.Google Scholar
Johnson, Janet Elise, Janet, Þorgerður Einarsdóttir, and Pétursdóttir, Gyða Margrét. 2013. “A Feminist Theory of Corruption: Lessons from Iceland.” Politics & Gender 9 (2): 174–206.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jones, Mark P. 1996. “Increasing Women's Representation via Gender Quotas: The Argentine Luy de Cupos.” Women & Politics 16 (4): 75–98.Google Scholar
Joy, Lois. 2008. “Women Board Directors in the United States: An Eleven Year Retrospective.” In Women on Corporate Boards of Directors: International Research and Practice, eds. Vinnicombe, Susan, Singh, Val, Burke, Ronald J., Bilmoria, Diana, and Huse, Morten. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 15–23.Google Scholar
Krook, Mona Lena. 2009. Quotas for Women in Politics: Gender and Candidate Selection Reform Worldwide. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Lépinard, Éléonore. 2013. “For Women Only? Gender Quotas and Intersectionality in France.” Politics & Gender 9 (3): 276–98.Google Scholar
Lord Davies of Abersoch, Steering Committee. 2011. “Women on Boards.” February 2011. http://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/31710/11-745-women-on-boards.pdf (accessed April 3, 2014).Google Scholar
Macleod, Mary. 2013. “FSTE 100 Chiefs Probed over Lack of Women on Boards.” The Telegraph, January 21. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-business/9815468/Women-on-boards-CEOs-probled-over-lack-of-female-executives.html (accessed May 5, 2016).Google Scholar
Meier, Petra. 2013. “Quotas, Quotas Everywhere: From Party Regulations to Gender Quotas for Corporate Management Boards. Another Case of Contagion.” Representation 49 (4): 453–66.Google Scholar
Murray, Rainbow, Krook, Mona Lena, and Opello, Katherine A. R.. 2012. “Why Are Gender Quotas Adopted? Party Pragmatism and Parity in France.” Political Research Quarterly 65 (3): 529–43.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pateman, Carole. 1988. The Sexual Contract. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
Ramsay, Bob. 2014. “Get More Women on Boards.” Toronto Star, January 4.Google Scholar
Rowbotham, Sheila. 1973. Women's Consciousness, Man's World. Middlesex: Penguin.Google Scholar
Sen, Amartya. 2009. “Capitalism beyond the Crisis.” New York Review of Books 56 (5): 27–30.Google Scholar
Schmidt, Vivien A. 1996. From State to Market: The Transformation of French Business and Government. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Schmidt, Vivien A. 2009. “Putting the Political Back into Political Economy by Bringing the State Back in Yet Again.” World Politics 61 (3): 516–46.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shamir, Ronen. 2008. “The Age of Responsibilization: On Market-Embedded Morality.” Economy and Society 37 (1): 1–19.Google Scholar
Smith, Nina, Smith, Valdemar, and Verner, Mette. 2006. “Do Women in Top Management Affect Firm Performance? A Panel Study of 2500 Danish Firms.” International Journal of Productivity and Performance 55 (7): 569–93.Google Scholar
Subbotina, Svetlana. 2013. “Zhenshchinam v biznese predostovatiat’ ravnye prava s muzhchinam.” Izvestia, November 12. http://www.izvestia.ru/news/539317?ixzz2BzMAUVT (accessed November 27, 2013).Google Scholar
Suk, Julie C. 2012. “Gender Parity and State Legitimacy: From Public Office to Corporate Boards.” International Journal of Constitutional Law 10 (2): 449–64.Google Scholar
Teasdale, Nina, Fagan, Colette, and Shepherd, Claire. 2012. “Women's Representation on the Boards of UK-Listed Companies.” In Women on Corporate Boards and in Top Management: European Trends and Policy, eds. Fagan, Colette, González Menéndez, Maria C., and Ansón, Silvia Gómez. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 128–49.Google Scholar
Teigen, Mari. 2012. “Gender Quotas for Corporate Boards in Norway: Innovative Gender Equality Policy.” In Women on Corporate Boards and in Top Management: European Trends and Policy, eds. Fagan, Colette, González Menéndez, Maria C., and Ansón, Silvia Gómez. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 70–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Terjesen, Siri, and Singh, Val. 2008. “Female Presence on Corporate Boards: A Multi-Country Study of Environmental Context.” Journal of Business Ethics 83 (1): 55–63.Google Scholar
Towns, Ann E. 2010. Women and States: Norms and Hierarchies in International Society. New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Treisman, Daniel. 2011. The Return: Russia's Journey from Gorbachev to Medvedev. New York: Free Press.Google Scholar
Windebank, Jan. “Reconciling Work and Family Life for French Mothers in the Sarkozy Era: Working More to Earn More?” International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy 32 (9/10): 576–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wintour, Patrick. 2011. “Cameron Says More Women in the Boardroom Would Help Curb Greed.” The Guardian, January 3. http://www.theguardian.com/money/2011/nov/03/cameron-women-boardroom-curb-greed/print (accessed February 5, 2014).Google Scholar
Zahidi, Saadia, and Ibarra, Herminia. 2010. The Corporate Gender Gap. Geneva: World Economic Forum. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GenderGap_CorporateReport_2010.pdf (accessed May 5, 2016).Google Scholar

PRIMARY SOURCES

Canada. Parliament (House of Commons; Senate). http://www.parl.gc.ca Google Scholar
Canada. Status of Women Canada. http://www.swc-cfc.gc.ca Google Scholar
European Parliament. http://www.europarl.eu Google Scholar
French Republic. Assemblée Nationale. http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr Google Scholar
French Republic. Sénat.Google Scholar
Russian Federation. Federal Assembly, State Duma. http://transcript.duma.gov.ru Google Scholar
United Kingdom. House of Commons; House of Lords. http://www.parliament.uk Google Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Chandler supplementary material

Online abstract

Download Chandler supplementary material(File)
File 14.2 KB