IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/woemps/v35y2021i4p753-773.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Broadening of the Field of Corporate Boards and Legitimate Capitals: An Investigation into the Use of Gender Quotas in Corporate Boards in Norway

Author

Listed:
  • Cathrine Seierstad

    (University of South-Eastern Norway, Norway)

  • Ahu Tatli

    (Queen Mary University of London, UK)

  • Maryam Aldossari

    (The University of Edinburgh, UK)

  • Morten Huse

    (BI Norwegian Business School, Norway)

Abstract

Drawing on 31 interviews, we explore the life trajectories of some of the women with most directorships in Norway after the introduction of the quota, with specific attention to their capitals. Adopting a Bourdieusian approach, we examine to what extent forced structural changes (the quota), challenge what are valued as legitimate capital(s) in the field (corporate boards). Our research demonstrates the progressive role of the quota in challenging gendered ideas of suitability. We found that structural adjustments in the field are leading to realignment in terms of the field-specific value and meaning of different types of capitals, which are redrawing the boundaries of the field in the process. We conclude that the external push through state-imposed regulation has broadened the field, resulting in the recognition of a wider set of capitals as legitimate. The study responds to the much-debated question about the utility of quotas in addressing systemic and historical inequalities.

Suggested Citation

  • Cathrine Seierstad & Ahu Tatli & Maryam Aldossari & Morten Huse, 2021. "Broadening of the Field of Corporate Boards and Legitimate Capitals: An Investigation into the Use of Gender Quotas in Corporate Boards in Norway," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 35(4), pages 753-773, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:woemps:v:35:y:2021:i:4:p:753-773
    DOI: 10.1177/0950017019892835
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0950017019892835
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/0950017019892835?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Singh, Val & Terjesen, Siri & Vinnicombe, Susan, 2008. "Newly appointed directors in the boardroom:: How do women and men differ," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 26(1), pages 48-58, February.
    2. Øyvind Bøhren & Siv Staubo, 2016. "Mandatory Gender Balance and Board Independence," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 22(1), pages 3-30, January.
    3. Kenneth R. Ahern & Amy K. Dittmar, 2012. "The Changing of the Boards: The Impact on Firm Valuation of Mandated Female Board Representation," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 127(1), pages 137-197.
    4. Harald Dale-Olsen & Pål Schøne & Mette Verner, 2013. "Diversity among Norwegian Boards of Directors: Does a Quota for Women Improve Firm Performance?," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(4), pages 110-135, October.
    5. Tatli, Ahu & Vassilopoulou, Joana & Özbilgin, Mustafa, 2013. "An unrequited affinity between talent shortages and untapped female potential: The relevance of gender quotas for talent management in high growth potential economies of the Asia Pacific region," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 22(3), pages 539-553.
    6. Cathrine Seierstad & Gillian Warner-Søderholm & Mariateresa Torchia & Morten Huse, 2017. "Increasing the Number of Women on Boards: The Role of Actors and Processes," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 141(2), pages 289-315, March.
    7. Lídia Farré & Francis Vella, 2013. "The Intergenerational Transmission of Gender Role Attitudes and its Implications for Female Labour Force Participation," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 80(318), pages 219-247, April.
    8. Seierstad, Cathrine & Opsahl, Tore, 2011. "For the few not the many? The effects of affirmative action on presence, prominence, and social capital of women directors in Norway," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 27(1), pages 44-54, March.
    9. Susan M. Adams & Patricia M. Flynn, 2005. "Local Knowledge Advances Women's Access to Corporate Boards," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 13(6), pages 836-846, November.
    10. Terjesen, Siri & Sealy, Ruth, 2016. "Board Gender Quotas: Exploring Ethical Tensions From A Multi-Theoretical Perspective," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 26(1), pages 23-65, January.
    11. repec:dau:papers:123456789/11419 is not listed on IDEAS
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Elizabeth Cotton & T Alexandra Beauregard & Janroj Yilmaz Keles, 2021. "Gender Equalities: What Lies Ahead," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 35(4), pages 615-620, August.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Joanna Tyrowicz & Siri Terjesen & Jakub Mazurek, 2017. "All on board? New evidence on board gender diversity from a large panel of firms," GRAPE Working Papers 5, GRAPE Group for Research in Applied Economics.
    2. Tyrowicz, Joanna & Terjesen, Siri & Mazurek, Jakub, 2020. "All on board? New evidence on board gender diversity from a large panel of European firms," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 38(4), pages 634-645.
    3. Paul B. McGuinness & João Paulo Vieito & Mingzhu Wang, 2020. "Proactive government intervention, board gender balance, and stakeholder engagement in China and Europe," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 37(3), pages 719-762, September.
    4. Antoine Rebérioux & Gwenaël Roudaut, 2016. "Gender Quota inside the Boardroom: Female Directors as New Key Players?," Working Papers hal-01297884, HAL.
    5. Nguyen, Thi Hong Hanh & Ntim, Collins G. & Malagila, John K., 2020. "Women on corporate boards and corporate financial and non-financial performance: A systematic literature review and future research agenda," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    6. Mateos de Cabo, Ruth & Terjesen, Siri & Escot, Lorenzo & Gimeno, Ricardo, 2019. "Do ‘soft law’ board gender quotas work? Evidence from a natural experiment," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 37(5), pages 611-624.
    7. Rey Dang & Anne Françoise Bender & Marie José Scotto, 2014. "Women on French Corporate Board of Directors: How Do They Differ from their Male Counterparts?," Working Papers 2014-54, Department of Research, Ipag Business School.
    8. repec:ipg:wpaper:2014-054 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Mahmoud Ahmed, 2023. "The long-term effects of female board representation on accounting quality: Causal evidence," International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 20(2), pages 109-118, June.
    10. Sanjukta Brahma & Chioma Nwafor & Agyenim Boateng, 2021. "Board gender diversity and firm performance: The UK evidence," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(4), pages 5704-5719, October.
    11. Gillian Warner-Søderholm & Patricia Gabaldon Quinones & Cathrine Seierstad & Carl Åberg, 2023. "Getting More Women on Boards: Cultural and Institutional Antecedents That Matter," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(3), pages 21582440231, August.
    12. Katarzyna Burzynska & Gabriela Contreras, 2020. "Affirmative action programs and network benefits in the number of board positions," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(8), pages 1-26, August.
    13. Koray Aktas & Valeria Gattai & Piergiovanna Natale, 2021. "Board Gender Quotas and Outward Foreign Direct Investment: Evidence from France," Working Papers 485, University of Milano-Bicocca, Department of Economics, revised Dec 2021.
    14. repec:ipg:wpaper:201413 is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Nitesh Pandey & Satish Kumar & Corinne Post & John W. Goodell & Rebeca García-Ramos, 2023. "Board gender diversity and firm performance: A complexity theory perspective," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 40(3), pages 1289-1320, September.
    16. Alessandra Rigolini & Morten Huse, 2021. "Women and Multiple Board Memberships: Social Capital and Institutional Pressure," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 169(3), pages 443-459, March.
    17. Antoine Rebérioux & Gwenael Roudaut, 2017. "Gender Quota and Inequalities inside the Boardroom," Working Papers hal-01618949, HAL.
    18. Irma Martinez-Garcia & Silvia Gomez-Anson, 2020. "Regulación de género en los consejos de administración: El papel moderador del entorno institucional," CNMV Documentos de Trabajo CNMV Documentos de Trabaj, CNMV- Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores - Departamento de Estudios y Estadísticas.
    19. Ishwar Khatri, 2023. "Board gender diversity and sustainability performance: Nordic evidence," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(3), pages 1495-1507, May.
    20. Koray Aktaş & Valeria Gattai & Piergiovanna Natale, 2023. "Board gender quotas and outward foreign direct investment: Evidence from France," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 56(4), pages 1291-1321, November.
    21. Viktor Bozhinov & Christopher Koch & Thorsten Schank, 2019. "The Second Glass Ceiling: Women’s Role in Supervisory Boards of German Firms," Schmalenbach Business Review, Springer;Schmalenbach-Gesellschaft, vol. 71(3), pages 385-411, August.
    22. Mingzhu Wang & Elisabeth Kelan, 2013. "The Gender Quota and Female Leadership: Effects of the Norwegian Gender Quota on Board Chairs and CEOs," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 117(3), pages 449-466, October.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:woemps:v:35:y:2021:i:4:p:753-773. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.britsoc.co.uk/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.