Making the business case, female quotas in Business: Discourses and logics

Oliver, Thom

Abstract

The recent review conducted by Lord Davies (BIS, 2011) on Women on Boards received over 2,654 responses to the call for evidence from a broad range of academic, corporate and practitioners sources. The report whilst stressing that boards be made of competent high calibre individuals with a mix of skills experiences and backgrounds stopped short of recommending quotas to address the present gender imbalance on boards of directors. The paper utilises a qualitative thematic analysis of policy documents and review submissions to surface the discourses and literatures informing the Davies review and Women in the Workplace inquiry (2012/13) and contrasts them with contemporary debate and actions to improve the descriptive representation of women within political institutions. In doing so the paper offers a comparative assessment of the sources and logics of debate around the representation of women on boards and within our political institutions to draw conclusions about the dominant discourses shaping debate in each realm.

• Presentation Conference Type: Conference Paper (unpublished)
• Conference Name: 63rd Political Studies Association Annual International Conference: 'The Party's Over?'
• Start Date: Mar 25, 2013
• End Date: Mar 27, 2013
• Publication Date: Mar 26, 2013
• Peer Reviewed: Not Peer Reviewed
• Keywords: Davies review, women on boards, diversity, representation, gender, quotas
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/933517
• Additional Information: Title of Conference or Conference Proceedings : 63rd Political Studies Association Annual International Conference: 'The Party's Over?'