Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-p9bg8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T15:08:59.288Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Structural Hindrances or Less Driven Women? Managers’ Views on Corporate Quotas

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 April 2019

Þorgerður J. Einarsdóttir Open the ORCID record for Þorgerður J. Einarsdóttir [Opens in a new window] ,
Guðbjörg Linda Rafnsdóttir  and
Margrét Valdimarsdóttir
Þorgerður J. Einarsdóttir
Affiliation:
University of Iceland
Guðbjörg Linda Rafnsdóttir
Affiliation:
University of Iceland
Margrét Valdimarsdóttir
Affiliation:
University of Iceland
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

High levels of women in politics and paid work, together with the availability of paid parental leave and public child care, make the gender imbalance in business leadership in Iceland all the more confounding. This study analyzes business leaders’ attitudes toward gender and leadership positions after a gender quota law for company boards was implemented in 2013. We explore support for gender quotas and whether it is related to how respondents explain women's underrepresentation in leadership positions. A questionnaire was sent to 1,349 managers in the 250 largest companies in Iceland. Our findings indicate that women are more supportive of gender quotas than men. The way in which the respondents explain the underrepresentation of women as top managers is strongly related to their support for gender quotas. Those who believe that women are structurally disadvantaged are more likely to support gender quotas than those who adhere to individual explanations. Furthermore, male dominance at higher company levels is related to negative views on gender quotas, whereas this does not apply at lower levels. The research emphasizes the impact of business leaders on the recruitment of women to business leadership positions and, at the same time, has implications for policy interventions.

Keywords

Gender disparitiesgender quotasmanagersstructural versus individual hindrances
Type
Research Article
Information
Politics & Gender , Volume 16 , Special Issue 1: Special Symposium on Women's Parties , March 2020 , pp. 285 - 313
Copyright
Copyright © The Women and Politics Research Section of the American Political Science Association 2019

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

Acker, Joan. 1990. “Hierarchies, Jobs, Bodies: A Theory of Gendered Organizations.” Gender & Society 4 (2): 139–58.10.1177/089124390004002002CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Acker, Joan. 2006. “Inequality Regimes Gender, Class, and Race in Organizations.” Gender & Society 20 (4): 441–64.10.1177/0891243206289499CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Acker, Joan. 2012. “Gendered Organizations and Intersectionality: Problems and Possibilities.” Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal 31 (3): 214–24.10.1108/02610151211209072CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Axelsdóttir, Laufey, and Einarsdóttir, Þorgerður. 2017. “The Realization of Gender Quotas in Post-collapse Iceland.” NORA: Nordic Journal of Feminist and Gender Research 25 (1): 48–61.Google Scholar
Axelsdóttir, Laufey, and Halrynjo, Sigtona. 2018. “Gender Balance in Executive Management: Top-Managers, Understanding of Barriers and Solution from the Demand-Supply Perspective.” Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State & Society 25 (2): 287–314.10.1093/sp/jxy012CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bacchi, Carol. 1999. Women, Policy and Politics: The Construction of Policy Problems. London: Sage.Google Scholar
Bacchi, Carol. 2006. “Arguing for and against Quotas: Theoretical Issues.” In Women, Quotas and Politics, ed. Dahlerup, Drude. New York and London: Routledge, 32–51.Google Scholar
Bacchi, Carol. 2009. Analysing Policy: What's the Problem Represented to Be? French's Forest, NSW: Pearson.Google Scholar
Barnes, Tiffany D., and Córdova, Abby. 2016. “Making Space for Women: Explaining Citizen Support for Legislative Gender Quotas in Latin America.” Journal of Politics 78 (3): 670–686.10.1086/685379CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bauman, Zygmunt. 2001. The Individualized Society. Cambridge: Polity Pres.Google Scholar
Becker, Gary. [1981] 1991. A Treatise on the Family. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Blair-Loy, Mary. 2003. Competing Devotions: Career and Family among Women Executives. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Browne, Jude. 2006. Sex Segregation and Inequality in the Modern Labour Market. Bristol: Policy Press.Google Scholar
Budgeon, Shelley. 2015. “Individualized Femininity and Feminist Politics of Choice.” European Journal of Women's Studies 22(3): 303–18. https://doi.org/10.1177/1350506815576602.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Centre for Gender Equality. 2017. “Information on Gender Equality Issues in Iceland.” Akureyri: Centre for Gender Equality. https://www.jafnretti.is/static/files/2018/utgefid_efni_af_gomlu_sidu/gender_equality_in_iceland_2017-1-.pdf (accessed December 17, 2018).Google Scholar
Chandler, Andrea. 2016. “Women on Corporate Boards: A Comparison of Parliamentary Discourse in the United Kingdom and France.” Politics & Gender 12 (3): 443–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clark, April K. 2017. “Updating the Gender Gap(s): A Multilevel Approach to What Underpins Changing Cultural Attitudes.” Politics & Gender 13 (1): 26–56.10.1017/S1743923X16000520CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Collins, Frainne, and Wickham, James. 2004. “Inclusion or Exploitation? Irish Women Enter the Labour Force.” Gender, Work & Organization 11 (1): 26–46.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crompton, Rosemary, and Lyonette, Clare. 2005. The New Gender Essentialism—Domestic and Family ‘Choices’ and Their Relation to Attitudes. British Journal of Sociology 56(4): 601–20. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-4446.2005.00085.x.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dahlerup, Drude, ed. 2006. Women, Quotas and Politics. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Dämmrich, Johanna, and Blossfeld, Hans-Peter. 2017. “Women's Disadvantage in Holding Supervisory Positions: Variations among European Countries and the Role of Horizontal Gender Segregation.” Acta Sociologica 60 (3): 262–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Diðriksdóttir, Sunna. 2017. “‘Ef það er ekki business þá vil ég ekki heyra það’: Viðhorf æðstu stjórnenda til kynjakvóta í stjórnum” [“If it's not business, then I don't want to hear it”: The views of senior managers toward corporate gender quotas]. MA thesis, University of Iceland.Google Scholar
Einarsdóttir, Þorgerður. 2007. “Aumingjahjálp eða afbygging á umframvaldi? Sértækar aðgerðir, jákvæð mismunun og kvótar í íslenskri jafnréttisumræðu” [Assistance for weaklings or deconstruction of overrepresentation? Affirmative action, positive discrimination, and quotas in Icelandic gender equality debate]. In Rannsóknir í félagsvísindum VIII, ed. Jóhannesson, Gunnar Þór. Reykjavík: Félagsvísindastofnun Háskóla Íslands, Háskólaútgáfan, 391–402.Google Scholar
Einarsdóttir, Þorgerður, and Hjartardóttir, Guðbjörg Lilja. 2009. “Kynjaskekkja í stjórnmálum. Breytingar og áhrifaþættir” [Gender bias in politics: Changes and factors of influence]. Tímarit stjórnmál og stjórnsýsla 5 (1): 5–26.Google Scholar
European Commission. 2012. Women in Economic Decision-Making in the EU: Progress Report. A Europe 2020 Initiative. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.Google Scholar
Eurostat. 2017. “Total Fertility Rate, 1960–2015.” http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/File:Total_fertility_rate,_1960%E2%80%932015_(live_births_per_woman)_YB17.png (accessed December 14, 2018).Google Scholar
Fortin, Nicole M. 2005. Gender Role Attitudes and the Labour-Market Outcomes of Women across OECD Countries. Oxford Review of Economic Policy 21 (3): 416–38.10.1093/oxrep/gri024CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gash, Vanessa. 2008. “Preference or Constraint? Part-Time Workers’ Transitions in Denmark, France and the United Kingdom.” Work, Employment and Society 22 (4): 655–74.10.1177/0950017008096741CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gíslason, Ingólfur V. 2007. Parental Leave in Iceland: Bringing the Fathers in: Development in the Wake of New Legislation in 2000. Akureyri: Jafnréttisstofa.Google Scholar
Hakim, Catherine. 1998. “Developing a Sociology for the 21st Century: Preference Theory.” British Journal of Sociology 49 (1): 137–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hakim, Catherine. 2000. Work-Lifestyle Choices in the 21st Century. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Hakim, Catherine. 2004. Key Issues in Women's Work: Female Diversity and the Polarisation of Women's Employment. London: Glasshouse Press.Google Scholar
Hakim, Catherine. 2011. “Feminist Myths and Magic Medicine: The Flawed Thinking behind Calls for Further Equality Legislation.” Report, Centre for Policy Studies. http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/36488/ (accessed December 14, 2018).Google Scholar
Inglehart, Ronald F., and Norris, Pippa. 2003. Rising Tide: Gender Equality and Cultural Change around the World. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Inter-Parliamentary Union. 2018. “Women in National Parliaments: World Classification.” http://www.ipu.org/wmn-e/classif.htm (accessed November 1, 2018).Google Scholar
James, Laura. 2007. “United by Gender or Divided by Class? Women's Work Orientations and Labour Market Behaviour.” Gender, Work & Organization 15 (4): 394–412. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0432.2007.00367.x.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kangas, Olli, and Rostgaard, Tine. 2007. “Preferences or Institutions? Work-Family Life Opportunities in Seven European Countries.” Journal of European Social Policy 17 (3): 240–56. https://doi.org/10.1177/0958928707078367.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
KPMG and University of Iceland. 2013. The Icelandic Board Member 2012: Survey on Composition of Boards, Board Tasks and Board Members’ Background and Stance to Pending Gender Quota. Reykjavík: KPMG.Google Scholar
Lewis, Patricia, and Simpson, Ruth. 2017. “Hakim Revisited: Preference, Choice and the Postfeminist Gender Regime.” Gender, Work & Organization 24 (2): 115–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meier, Petra. 2008. “A Gender Gap Not Closed by Quotas: The Renegotiation of the Public Sphere.” International Feminist Journal of Politics 10 (3): 329–47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Menéndez, Maria González, Fagan, Colette, and Ansón, Silvia Gómez. 2012. “Introduction.” In Women on Corporate Boards and in Top Management: European Trends and Policy, eds. Fagan, Colette, Menéndez, Maria González, and Ansón, Silvia Gómez. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 1–17.Google Scholar
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). 2017. “OECD Employment Outlook 2017.” https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/employment/oecd-employment-outlook-2017_empl_outlook-2017-en (accessed December 14, 2018).Google Scholar
Pande, Rohini, and Ford, Deanna. 2011. “World Development Report 2012: Gender Quotas and Female Leadership.” Background Paper, World Bank. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/9120 (accessed December 14, 2018).Google Scholar
Pascall, Gillian. 2012. Gender Equality in the Welfare State? Bristol: Polity Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Phillips, Anne. 1995. The Politics of Presence. Oxford: Clarendon Press.Google Scholar
Rafnsdóttir, Guðbjörg L., Axelsdóttir, Laufey, Diðriksdóttir, Sunna, and Einarsdóttir, Þorgerður. 2015. Women and Men as Business Leaders in Iceland. Akureyri: Jafnréttisstofa.Google Scholar
Rafnsdóttir, Guðbjörg L., Einarsdóttir, Þorgerður, and Snorrason, Jón S.. 2014. “Gender Quotas on the Boards of Corporations in Iceland.” In Gender Quota for the Board of Directors, eds. De Vos, Marc and Culliford, Philippe. Cambridge: Intersentia, 147–57.Google Scholar
Rafnsdóttir, Guðbjörg L., and Heijstra, Thamar M.. 2013. “Balancing Work-Family Life in Academia: The Power of Time.” Gender, Work & Organization 20 (3): 283–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
RafnsdóttirGuðbjörg, L. Guðbjörg, L., and Þorvaldsdóttir, Margrét. 2012. “Kynjakvótar og mögulegar hindranir á leið kvenna til æðstu stjórnunar” [Gender quotas and potential hindrances for women in their managerial careers]. Íslenska þjóðfélagið 3: 57–76.Google Scholar
Rottenberg, Catherine. 2014. “The Rise of Neoliberal Feminism.” Cultural Studies 28 (3): 418–37. https://doi.org/10.1080/09502386.2013.857361.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Seierstad, Cathrine. 2016. “Beyond the Business Case: The Need for Both Utility and Justice Rationales for Increasing the Share of Women on Boards.” Corporate Governance: An International Review 24 (4): 390–405.10.1111/corg.12117CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Social Science Research Institute. 2017. Viðhorf til kynjakvóta í stjórnum fyrirtækja [Attitudes toward gender quotas on corporate boards]. Reykjavík: Félagsvísindastofnun Háskóla Íslands.Google Scholar
Statistics Iceland. 2015. Statistical Yearbook of Iceland. Reykjavík: Hagstofa Íslands.Google Scholar
Statistics Iceland. 2017. Gender of CEOs and board members by companies' size 1999–2017 [Kyn framkvæmdastjóra og stjórnarmanna eftir stærð fyrirtækja 1999–2017]. Reykjavík: Hagstofa Íslands.Google Scholar
Teigen, Mari. 2011. “Gender Quotas on Corporate Boards.” In Gender and Power in the Nordic Countries—With Focus on Politics and Business, ed. Niskanen, Kirsti. Oslo: NIKK Publications, 87–111.Google Scholar
Teigen, Mari. 2015. “Gender Quotas for Corporate Boards in Norway.” Working Paper 2015/22, European University Institute, Department of Law.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Terjesen, Siri, Aguilera, Ruth V., and Lorenz, Ruth. 2015. “Legislating a Woman's Seat on the Board: Institutional Factors Driving Gender Quotas for Boards of Directors.” Journal of Business Ethics 128 (2): 233–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weyer, Birgit. 2007. “Twenty Years Later: Explaining the Persistence of the Glass Ceiling for Women Leaders.” Women in Management Review 22 (6): 482–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Forum, World Economic. 2018. The Global Gender Gap Report. Geneva: World Economic Forum.Google Scholar
Zarya, Valentina. 2017. “The 2017 Fortune 500 Includes a Record Number of Women CEOs.” Fortune, June 7. http://fortune.com/2017/06/07/fortune-women-ceos/ (accessed December 14, 2018).Google Scholar