Pretty and colourful Why should there be women on European company boards?

Abstract: This Bachelors’ thesis compares theoretical arguments for women on boards and in management with practitioners’ argumentations for women on boards. By analyzing 32 responses to the EU Commission public consultation for women on boards with argument analysis, the study assesses how theoretical models fit the debate in society. The analysis shows that the arguments go ‘outside the theoretical box’ when discussing women’s participation in the labour market. The theoretical models does not include the effect of the actors’ willingness not only to argue, but to act, in their framework on how to increase the share of women on boards. The thesis therefore concludes that the theoretical frameworks tested need to include perspectives from other areas in order to fully encompass the debate on women on boards.