Gender equality within boards: comparing quota and soft law

Sophie Harnay, Fabienne Llense, Antoine Rebérioux and Gwenaël Roudaut
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Sophie Harnay: EconomiX (UMR 7235), UPL, Université Paris Nanterre, CNRS, 200 avenue de la République, 92001 Nanterre cedex, France
Fabienne Llense: EconomiX (UMR 7235), UPL, Université Paris Nanterre, CNRS, 200 avenue de la République, 92001 Nanterre cedex, France
Antoine Rebérioux: LADYSS (UMR 7533), Université Paris Cité, 8 place Paul Ricoeur, 75013 Paris, France
Gwenaël Roudaut: Département d’économie, Ecole Polytechnique, Route de Saclay, 91128 Palaiseau cedex, France

No 24-08, Working Papers AFED from Association Francaise d'Economie du Droit (AFED)

Abstract: In 2011, Britain and France introduced affirmative action policies aiming at improving board gender mix in listed companies. While the reforms were similar in terms of target and timing, Britain opted for a ‘soft law’ (comply or explain) approach, while France enacted a mandatory quota. Using difference-in-differences analyses, we examine the differential impact of these two reforms on board composition and on women empowerment within boards. We first show that the quota has been associated with a more rapid adjustment of the gender mix without significant disruptive effects on board composition. However, we report that the quota has induced a more limited access of women to monitoring committees within boards, relative to soft law. As these committees are the most influential, this evidence shows that the quota came at a cost when considering within-board women’s influence.

Keywords: company boards; gender inequalities; leadership positions; quota; soft law; board committees (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: G34 G38 J16 J78 K22 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 58 pages
Date: 2024-12
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-gen, nep-lab and nep-law
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