Women on Boards: A Study of the Experiences and Perspectives of Female Swedish Corporate Board Members

Abstract: In this report we examine how Rosabeth Moss Kanter’s theory on the mechanisms and consequences of relative distribution of gender in management, from 1977, corresponds with the perspective of female corporate board members of, particularly, large companies in Sweden in the year of 2010. We test the applicability of the theory by conducting semi structured interviews with ten female board professionals. We also make interviews with three experts in the field of female executives and board members. We find that some of the elements in Kanter’s theory holds true, and that others do not. We make two overall conclusions. The first is that Kanter’s hypothesis that female performance and achievements are diminished in male dominated groups does not hold true for Swedish corporate boards of directors. The second is that Kanter’s hypothesis of majorities and minorities being a self-perpetuating system because of homosocialization does hold true for Swedish company boards of directors, but that the foundations of homosocialization may be weakening as a consequence of a broader societal development towards increased gender equality.