Women in decision-making: The Norwegian Paradox

education, applicants from the underrepresented gender are given priority, when qualifications
are equal or about equal. Following from the carefulness of the formulation of these
procedures, they have proved to have only minor direct effects. In spite of their relative
efficiency, studies indicate, however, that they affect organizations’ prioritizing and
legitimizing of gender equality (Teigen 2002b).
Promoting procedures: A slightly different kind of positive action procedures are promoting
procedures. These kinds of procedures imply that candidate’s chances are improved by being
moved upwards in a prior ranked queue or row. The “additional point” system is the most
commonly applied promoting procedure, typically practiced in connection with admission to
universities and colleges. A resembling, yet quite more effective, system is “earmarking” of
positions
Minimum representation: Rules of minimum representation set requirements for the gender
composition in terms of fixed distributions – generally formulated as a demand for at least 40
% of each gender. Principles of minimum representation also exist as voluntary agreements in
the major Norwegian political parties, with the exception of the Conservative Party and the
Progressive Party. In the Liberal Party, which was the first party to adopt quota procedures in
1974, the quota procedures is reserved the internal party system. The other four major parties
have adopted quota arrangements in terms of both internal party quotas and candidate quotas:
The Socialist Left Party in 1975; the Labor Party in 1983; the Centre Party in 1989; and the
Christian Democratic Party in 1993 (Christensen 1999). In the organizational sector, mostly
the voluntary organizations and the large employee organizations, quota systems for the
composition of representative assemblies, are widely dispersed. In the largest of the
employee’s organizations, the National trade union federation (LO), the introduction of a
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