The Norwegian Gender Quota Law and its Effects on Corporate Boards

Abstract: This paper has examined which medium-term effects the Norwegian gender quota law has had on corporate boards listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange from 2009 to 2015. Wehave studied the gender quota law’s impact on different corporate board factors, such as board composition, the number of directorships held, basic remuneration, board size, andthe age of directors. Further, we also compared the gender quota law’s effects on these factors with similar studies made in earlier periods. The reason for that is to recognise whether there is a tendency of convergence over time. The study have been conducted using a quantitative approach by gathering information from mostly annual reports. Since, this is a comparative study, we will be using the same methods as previous researchers. These methods are arithmetic averages and standard deviations. We have also included some other methods to strengthen the results, such as geometric average, median, correlations, and significance test. The results of our research show that the number of directorships held by female directors decreased in both absolute numbers as well as in averages and dispersion. Remuneration for female directors increased. However, it diverged with male directors. The average board size did not remain significantly constant over time. We also found that the average age of board directors both increase and converges between the genders. We also believed that the proportion of female directors was depended on the firm’s board size, which the results showed was an incorrect assumption. This paper has applied an overarching theory called contingency theory. Further, other complementary theories within the area of corporate governance have also been used such as stakeholder theory, agency theory, and resource dependency theory. When analysing the results from this paper, there were too many plausible and contrasting theoretical explanations for why the various outcomes occurred. Therefore, we do not believe that the existing theoretical frameworks available are appropriate to explain how the gender quota law will impact corporate boards. The main contribution of this study is the results that show how both female and maledirectors’ average age and directorships held are converging over the observed period. Also, that the gender quota law has enabled female directors to gain more experience, which has led to a higher proportion of female directors.