Ministry of Trade and Industry
A tool for regulatory transparency
Case: Balanced gender representation on company boards
Regional Capacity-Building Seminar on RIA
Istanbul, Turkey, November 20th 2007
Sjur Eigil Dahl
The Case – Balanced gender
representation on company boards
• Prepared over a long time
• Involves a number of Ministries
• Policy objective assessed in various stages
• Policy instruments analyzed
2
Defining the problem
• General aspects:
– Gender equality
– Democracy
• Company boards are too homogeneous
• Necessity to make use of all human resources
• Imperfect utilization of expertise in the market
• Diversity stimulate competitiveness
3
Company incentives
• Socially aware
• Right image
• Competitive advantage
4
Government areas
– Equality rights
– Industrial economics
– Socio-economic benefits
– Company law
5
Assessing proportionality
• Scope – which companies
• Transition
• Alternatives
• Policy instrument
6
Transparency
• Policy outline
• Impact assessment
• Public hearing
• Policy meetings with business representatives
• Public arrangement concerning private sector
7
Policy objective in 2003
• Private sector
– Applies to Public limited companies, PLC
– Expecting voluntary compliance
– Transitional period
– Implementation put off for private sector
• Public owned companies
– Applies from start 2004
8
Simplification
Number of persons on the board
9
Gender representation
2 or 3
Both sexes represented
4 or 5
At least 2 of each
6 to 8
At least 3 of each
9
At least 4 of each
10 or more
At least 40%
Enforcement
• No new mechanisms
• Using Company legislation rules regarding
composition of the board
• Requirements enforced through the normal control
routines
• Register of Business Enterprises will refused to
register a company board not complying
• Non-compliance to requirement may be dissolved
10
Monitoring up to 2005
• Press release in July every year
• Names of non-compliant PLC made public
11
Year
Share of women on
PLC boards
2003
8,5 %
2005
13,1 %
Policy objective 2005
• Implementation necessary
• New RIA
• Transition period started January 1st 2006
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Monitoring up to 2007
13
Year
Share of women on
PLC boards
2003
8,5 %
2005
13,1 %
2006
21 %
2007
29,7
Taking stock
• All PLC must comply by 2008
• By October 2007 140 PLC do not fulfil
the requirements
• By November 2007 79 PLC do not
fulfil the requirements
• Minister: “Companies not complying
in 2008 will be dissolved”
• Incentives in PLC’s are less strong
than assumed
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Developing new method
• Two stage assessment
1. Investigating incentives

Finding strata of stakeholders

Picking at random a small number businesses

Interviewing

Analysing results
2. Confirm results
15

Survey in same strata

Survey in larger population
Workshops with Government officials
• Offering workshop, containing:
– Explaining the elements of the method
– Participant prepare an investigation plan
– Examining the project plan together
• Outcome
– Governments official get kick start
– Early intervention
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