OSLO — Arni Hole remembers the shock wave that went through Norway’s business community in 2002 when the country’s trade and industry minister, Ansgar Gabrielsen, proposed a law requiring that 40 percent of all company board members be women.
...After months of heated debate, the measure was approved by a significant majority in Parliament, giving state-owned companies until 2006 to comply and publicly listed companies until 2008.
I'll pause and let that soak in. Yes, Norway passed a law mandating the percentage of women occupying the board positions in companies. Why did they stop at 40 percent, you ask? Well, I guess they figured 50 percent would have been too fair.
So, how has this journey into enforcing social justice results turned out? Well, you can probably guess since I'm linking it... but as they say: read the whole thing.
The article also includes this quote which stuck out to me:
“Power is not something that is given, it is something that you have to take,” said Benja Stig-Fagerland, a Danish economist who in 2003 helped lead an effort by the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise, the country’s main business lobby, to find female leaders.
“I don’t think I’ve ever heard a female oversell her capabilities,” she said.
Now, I really have no idea who Benja is. I have never heard of her before in my life. I would like to think that she's being a bit humorous here, you know, women are "all powerful", nudge-nudge, wink-wink -- but I doubt it. I think she's being serious and if she wasn't the author of this piece certainly misrepresented her. No, I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that Benja is ... well, overselling here.
Obligatory exit questions: If you are a woman put on a board recently in Norway, given the difficulty in reaching the required 40% mark, how would you view your position on the board? How does that impact your interaction with the rest of the board?
In other news, in Norway there is such a thing as the "Equality Ministry".
H/T: VC
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