Women in decision-making: The Norwegian Paradox

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The absence of women is very striking in economic decision making. In the large private
enterprises women constitute only 2 %, even in the publicly owned enterprises the situation is
about the same, men dominate totally. This is however not a particular Norwegian situation.
The current situation in the other Nordic countries is very similar. The number of women in
top-positions in the Norwegian as well as the Swedish business elite was only four percent. A
corresponding study in Finland, also from 2001, reveals exactly the same number; four
percent women in the business elite. A current example from Denmark is that it is only one
female CEO in the top 200 Danish firms (Christiansen and Togeby 2005).
In all the Nordic countries the absence of women in economic decision making has
been widely debated. In Norway, a particular strand of this debate is about the possibility and
fairness of legally regulating the gender composition of the boards of large business
enterprises. However, before I approach the recent Norwegian regulation of the gender
composition of corporate boards, I will give a brief introduction to the role of affirmative
action and quota policies in Norwegian gender equality politics.
Figure 4: Men and women in the business elite in the Nordic countries (2000/01) (%).
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