Board gender diversity and women in leadership positions - are quotas the solution?

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F62690094%3A18450%2F22%3A50019382" target="_blank" >RIV/62690094:18450/22:50019382 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

<a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/CCIJ-02-2022-0022/full/html" target="_blank" >https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/CCIJ-02-2022-0022/full/html</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/CCIJ-02-2022-0022" target="_blank" >10.1108/CCIJ-02-2022-0022</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Board gender diversity and women in leadership positions - are quotas the solution?

Original language description

Purpose The question has been asked, &quot;Where are the women?&quot; explicitly looking at the public relations (PR) industry, but this is a broader issue reflected in many senior management roles, especially at the corporate board level. One of the solutions suggested is &quot;quotas&quot;. This paper explores the literature to identify the prominent arguments for and against representation regulations (quotas) concerning corporate board gender diversity and concisely presents the findings. Design/methodology/approach The exploratory research path first focuses on a literature search using the keywords - &quot;gender diversity&quot;, &quot;board structures&quot; and &quot;female traits&quot; to identify the various issues concerning female members serving on corporate boards. This led to the investigation exploring if &apos;quotas&apos; could play a role in increasing the number of female directors and, if so, what kind of impact this would have. When the authors discovered the paper by Place and Vardeman-Winter (2018), it was realised that a possible gap in the literature might have been identified. The focus then turned to the PR and corporate communications literature, where it was discovered that the issue of gender quotas was not explored. This paper brings together the germane literature from a wide range of disciplines. To obtain a broad perspective of the arguments, the authors conducted a review of this diverse field of literature through various databases and websites, including Scopus, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, Google Scholar, publishers&apos; databases such as Emerald Insight, Taylor and Francis, Macmillan, Blackwell, Oxford University, etc. Findings There are solid arguments both for and against quotas. However, many opposing views appear to be less sound than the positive ones, which allowed the authors to concur in favour of quotas and the broader adoption of female directors. It is only by identifying problems that solutions can be found - the issues concerning corporate board gender quotas relate to the perception of the arguments for and against quotas; the reality is often different. While there is a strong &quot;business case&quot; and &quot;stakeholder influence&quot; for the inclusion of women on corporate boards, some governments have put further pressure (either voluntary or mandatory) on organisations by imposing a &quot;quota&quot; system. At the same time, other countries are undecided on what action, if any, to take. Practical implications This paper can serve as guidance to countries that have not yet implemented quotas or those looking to move from a voluntary to mandatory quotas system. In addition to that, the paper should be valuable to academics, managers, regulators, legislators and policy-makers. Originality/value To the best of the authors knowledge, this is the first academic paper to present the critical arguments raised in the diverse literature on corporate board gender quotas succinctly and concisely and, therefore, adds value to the literature. It is also believed to be the first paper to address the issue of quotas in the PR and corporate communications literature.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

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OECD FORD branch

50204 - Business and management

Project

—

Continuities

I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Publication year

2022

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

Corporate Communications: an International journal

ISSN

1356-3289

e-ISSN

1758-6046

Volume of the periodical

27

Issue of the periodical within the volume

4

Country of publishing house

GB - UNITED KINGDOM

Number of pages

18

Pages from-to

742-759

UT code for WoS article

000789195200001

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-85130014217