From Iceland — No Increase In Number Of Female Board Members Despite Gender Quota

No Increase In Number Of Female Board Members Despite Gender Quota

Published May 23, 2017

Elías Þórsson
Photo by
Art Bicnick

The number of women sitting on corporate boards, or holding executive positions failed to increase between 2016-2017, reports Kjarninn.is.

Currently women make up 25.9 percent of board members in Iceland, up just 21.3 percent from 1999.

In 2013, Alþingi passed a law mandating all companies with 50 or more employees to have at least 40 percent of its board members female. Despite that, currently the number stands at just 32.3 percent. In fact, the number has gone down from its nadir in 2014—when it stood at 33.2 percent.

The number of female executive effectively stood still during the period, increasing from 21.9 percent to 22.1 percent.

Currently, no penalties are placed on companies that fail to meet the gender quota.

I guess our advice for women trying to make it in the corporate world is: he’s just not that into you.

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