Is a progressive law accelerating the longstanding snail’s pace? Women on corporate boards in Portugal
Main Article Content
Abstract
This paper looks at the impact of the new regulatory framework in Portugal that came into force in January 2018, the so-called gender quota law that relates to the gender composition of the boardrooms of companies listed on the Euronext Lisbon Stock Exchange and in the public sector. It begins by contextualising the debate about the underrepresentation of women on boards and the new binding policy framework that has been introduced in the European Union (EU) and Portugal. The paper then examines the data relating to the representation of men and women on the boards of public listed companies (PLCs). It is concluded that the introduction of binding legal targets in Portugal has accelerated the movement towards a greater representation of women on the boards of PLCs, giving an added impulse to the longstanding, but slow progress generated by the incentives that were designed to encourage voluntary action on the part of the companies themselves, and to promote self-regulatory measures. One of the fundamental challenges lying ahead is to move from a greater numerical gender balance to s ubstantive gender equality in the boardroom, while also increasing the representation of women in positions of power and with influence over decision-making.
Downloads
Metrics
Article Details
A RAE compromete-se a contribuir com a proteção dos direitos intelectuais do autor. Nesse sentido:
- adota a licença Creative Commoms BY (CC-BY) em todos os textos que publica, exceto quando houver indicação de específicos detentores dos direitos autorais e patrimoniais;
- adota software de detecção de similaridades;
- adota ações de combate ao plagio e má conduta ética, alinhada às diretrizes do Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)
References
Acker, J. (1990). Hierarchies, jobs, bodies: A theory of gendered organizations. Gender and Society, 4(2), 139-158. doi: 10.1177/089124390004002002
Casaca, S. F. (2012). Mercado do trabalho, flexibilidade e relações de género: tendências recentes. In S. F. Casaca (Coord.), Mudanças
laborais e relações de género, novos vetores de desigualdade (pp.9-50). Lisboa, Portugal: Fundação Económicas e Editora Almedina.
Casaca, S. F. (2017). Women on boards in Portugal: The slow progress of the normative framework. In C. Seierstad, P. Gabaldon, & H. Mensi-Klarbach (Eds.), Gender diversity in the boardroom: European perspectives on increasing female representation (pp. 45-74). London,
UK: Palgrave Macmillan.
Coleman, J. S. (1988). Social capital and the creation of human capital. American Journal of Sociology, 94, 95-120.
Connell, R. (2006). Glass ceilings or gendered institutions? Mapping the gender regimes of public sector worksites. Public Administration
Review, 66, 792-960. doi: 10.1111/j.1540-6210.2006.00652
Council of Europe. (2003). Balanced participation of women and men in
political and public decision-making. Recommendation Rec (2003)
of the Committee of Ministers and explanatory memorandum.
Retrieved from https://search.coe.int/cm/Pages/result_details.
aspx?ObjectID=09000016805e0848
Elomaki, A. (2017). Gender quotas for corporate boards: depoliticizing
gender and the economy. Nora – Nordic Journal of Feminist and
Research Agenda, 26(1), 53-68.
European Commission. (2012). Proposal for a Directive of the European
Parliament and of the Council on improving the gender balance
among non-executive directors of companies listed on Stock
exchanges and related measures. Retrieved from https://op.europa.
eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/b562b71f-4e0b-4b0e-a582-
ce5fe428/language-en
European Institute for Gender Equality. (2020a). The Gender Equality
Index 2020. Digitalisation and the future of work. Retrieved from
https://eige.europa.eu/gender-equality-index/2020
European Institute for Gender Equality. (2020b). Gender statistics
database. Retrieved from https://eige.europa.eu/gender-statistics/
dgs/indicator/wmidm_pol_parl__wmid_natparl
European Parliament. (2016). Legislative train 6.2016 gender balance on
boards. Retrieved from file:///C:/Users/Administrator/Downloads/
area-of-justice-and-fundamental-rights_gender-balance-onboards_
-06-01.pdf
European Union. (2000). Charter of fundamental rights of the European
Union (2000/c 364/01). Retrieved from https://www.europarl.
europa.eu/charter/pdf/text_en.pdf
European Union. (2012). Treaty on the functioning of the European
Union. Retrieved from https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/
TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:12012E/TXT&from=EN
Eurostat. (2020). Labour force survey. Database. Retrieved from https://
ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/lfs/data/database
Ferreira, V. (1999). Os paradoxos da situação das mulheres em Portugal.
Revista Crítica de Ciências Sociais, 52/53, 199-227.
Grosvold, J., & Brammer, S. (2011). National institutional systems as
antecedents of female board representation: An empirical study.
Corporate Governance: An International Review, 19(2), 116-135. doi:
1111/j.1467-8683.2010.00830
Hakim, C. (2000). Work-Lifestyle choices in the 21st century: Preference
theory. New York, U.S.: Oxford University Press.
Humbert, A. L., Kelan, E., & Clayton-Hathway, K. (2019). A rights-based
approach to board quotas and how hard sanctions work for gender
equality. European Journal of Women's Studies, 26(4), 1-22. doi:
1177/1350506819857125
Iannotta, M., Gatti, M., & Huse, M. (2016). Institutional complementarities
and gender diversity on boards: A configurational approach.
Corporate Governance: An International Review, 24(4), 406-427. doi:
1111/corg.12140
Informa D&B. (2019). Participação feminina nas empresas em Portugal
Retrieved from https://biblioteca.informadb.pt/files/files/Estudos/
retrato-presenca-feminina-2018.pdf
International Labour Organization. (2015). Women in business and management:
Gaining momentum. International Labour Office Geneva.
Kanter, R. (1977). Some effects of proportions on group life: Skewed sex
ratios and responses to token women. The American Journal of Sociology,
(5), 965-990.
Konrad, A. M., Kramer, V., & Erkut, S. (2008). Critical mass: The impact of
three women on corporate boards. Organizational Dynamics, 37(2),
-164, doi: 10.1016/j.orgdyn.2008.02.005
Lépinard, E., & Rubio-Marín, R. (2018). The French parity reform. In E.
Lépinard, & R. Rubio-Marín (Eds.), Transforming gender citizenship:
The irresistible rise of gender quotas in Europe (pp. 62-93). Cambridge,
U.K.: Cambridge University Press.
Lewis, P., & Simpson, R. (2012). Kanter revisited: Gender, power and
(in)visibility. International Journal of Management, 14, 141-158. doi:
1111/j.1468-2370.2011.00327.x
Machold, S., Huse, M, Hansen, K., & Brogi, M. (Eds.). (2013). Getting
women on to corporate boards: A snowball staring in Norway. Cheltenham,
U.K.: Edward Elgar Publishing.
Menéndez, M. C. G., Fagan, C., & Anson, S. G. G. (2012). Introduction. In
C. Fagan, M. C. G. Menéndez, & S. G. Ansón (Eds.), Women on corporate
boards and in top management: European trends and policy (pp.
-17). Basingstoke, U.K.: Palgrave.
Pordata. (2019). População activa por nível de escolaridade completo
(INE, Inquérito ao Emprego). Retrieved from https://www.pordata.pt/
Portugal/Popula%c3%a7%c3%a3o+activa+total+e+por+n%c3%advel+
de+escolaridade+completo-1008
Seierstad, C., Gabaldon, P., & Mensi-Klarbach, H. (Eds.). (2017). Gender
diversity in the boardroom: European perspectives on increasing female
representation. London, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.
Senden, L., Kruisinga, S., Burri, S., & Timmer, A. (2018). Gender-balanced
company boards in Europe: A comparative analysis of the regulatory,
policy and enforcement approaches in the EU and EEA Member
States. Brussels, Belgium: European Commission.
Terjesen, S., Aguilera, R. V., & Lorenz, R. (2015). Legislating a woman’s
seat on the board: Institutional factors driving gender quotas for
board of directors. Journal of Business Ethics, 128, 233-251.
Terjesen, S., & Sealy, R. (2016). Board gender quotas: Exploring ethical
tensions from a multi-theoretical perspective. Business Ethics Quarterly,
(1), 23-65. doi: 10.1017/beq.2016.7
Torres, A. C., Silva, F. V., Monteiro, T. L., & Cabrita, M. (2005), Homens e
mulheres entre família e trabalho. Lisboa, Portugal: CITE.