What You Need to Know
Women now hold more than 20 percent of corporate board seats in the nation’s top 3,000 publicly traded companies. This record high represents a great achievement for women, but for some activists, it’s not enough. California has recently enacted a law enforcing gender quotas on corporate boards, and other states are weighing similar measures. Some European countries have long had gender quotas in place for corporate boards.
While these quotas certainly stem from good intentions, they ultimately undermine women’s hard work. Gender quotas signal that women cannot reach high level leadership positions without special treatment, and sustain the lie that sexism is the primary driver of disparities in workplace outcomes. Women are reaching new heights in the business world every day. Gender quotas will only create an image of “token women” on boards, instead of allowing them to flourish in their current positions and rise through the ranks on their own. And there’s no evidence that increasing the number of women on corporate boards bears any fruit for women who are further down the workplace hierarchy. Quotas also represent an unnecessary and unconstitutional intrusion into the business decisions of private companies.
Additionally, women should be supported in their different career choices, even if that means
that fewer women than men reach the boardroom. Many women make career choices that lead to greater flexibility or irregular schedules, instead of climbing the corporate ladder. We should celebrate those choices and work to ensure equal opportunities for all women, not equal outcomes.