This book provides unique insights into how the idea of quota laws to get women on to corporate boards gained international momentum from its origins in Norway. Invaluable insights are gained through the stories of actors involved in shaping the discourse and practice on women of boards.

Contents: Introduction Morten Huse and Marina Brogi PART I: THE NORWEGIAN POLITICAL BACKGROUND 1. The Political Process Behind the Gender Balance Law Morten Huse 2. Women on Board Laila Dåvøy 3. Women Mean Business: Why and How Norway Legislated Gender Balance on the Boards of Listed Companies Kirsti Bergstø 4. Concluding Remarks to Part I Morten Huse PART II: NORWEGIAN AND INTERNATIONAL ADVOCACY 5. Institutionalizing Women’s Representation on Boards: An Introduction to the Advocacy Movement Silke Machold 6. Competence at Board Level: The Norwegian Case Elbjørg Gui Standal 7. Professionalizing Boards: The Work of the Professional Boards Forum Elin Hurvenes 8. The Swiss Case of Women on Boards of Directors Christine Wetli 9. Boards and Role Models for Supporting the Climb Upwards: Italy and Women Corporate Directors (WCD) Cristina Finocchi Mahne 10. Research and Considerations Regarding Women on Boards Heather Foust-Cummings 11. Concluding Remarks to Part II Silke Machold PART III: NORWEGIAN BOARD MEMBERS: STORIES FROM THE FIELD 12. Characteristics and Background of the Norwegian Women Directors Morten Huse 13. Stories from Four Norwegian Multi-board Women Nini Høegh Nergaard, Merete Lütken, Thorhild Widvey, Ingvild Ragna Myhre and Morten Huse 14. Concluding Remarks to Part III Morten Huse PART IV: LESSONS FROM RESEARCH ON GENDER ON BOARDS 15. Women on Boards: What We Know, What We Do Not Yet Know and How We Should Further Advance Knowledge Katrin Hansen 16. Women on Boards: The United States in a Global Comparison Dorothy Perrin Moore 17. Consequences of the Norwegian Gender Quota Regulation for Public Limited Company Boards Vibeke Heidenreich 18. Women Directors and Corporate Innovation: A Critical Mass Perspective Mariateresa Torchia 19. Gender-balanced Corporate Boards Agnes Bolsø, Hilde Bjørkhaug and Siri Øyslebø Sørensen 20. Gender Quotas on Corporate Boards in Norway, Necessary But Not Ideal Cathrine Seierstad 21. Legitimacy, Inclusion and Influence: Investigating Women Directors’ Board Experiences Gro Ladegård 22. Lessons from Previous Research on Women on Board for Future Research Andrea D. Bührmann 23. Concluding Remarks to Part IV Katrin Hansen PART V: POLICY IMPLICATIONS AT THE INTERNATIONAL LEVEL 24. Policy Approaches to Gender Diversity on Boards: An Introduction to Characteristics and Determinants Silke Machold and Katrin Hansen 25. Women on Boards: Lessons Learnt from Norway Monika Schulz-Strelow 26. Professionalization on the Supervisory Board, Diversity and Women Daniela Weber-Rey 27. Italy’s Lessons Learnt from Norway Marina Brogi 28. Women on Boards in the UK: Accelerating the Pace of Change? Ruth Sealy and Susan Vinnicombe 29. Winning the Board Game: Europe’s Economy Needs More Women in Business Viviane Reding 30. Concluding Remarks to Part V Katrin Hansen and Silke Machold Conclusions Katrin Hansen and Silke Machold Index