Moving Up to the Top. The Presence of Women in the Boards of Directors: Old Obstacles and New Opportunities
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Abstract
The article focuses on women who are members of the Boards of Directors in Italian listed companies, namely they hold a top position for which women representation has been guaranteed by gender quotas since 2011. Through a web survey, we investigated their perceptions on the main obstacles to the top-level female careers and the effectiveness of gender quotas in tackling gender inequalities. Our findings suggest that: i) career discrimination suffered by women is multidimensional, with factors attributable to the demand side playing a major role (i.e. homosocial reproduction of power); ii) gender quotas appear to be necessary to ensure an adequate women's representation at the highest management level, but not sufficient to trigger a corporate change in gender equality policies affecting all workers; iii) perceptions on these topics are influenced by personal career paths: women who have not benefited from gender quotas tend to underestimate gender discrimination, while women who have reached top positions thanks to quotas emphasize the structural nature of gender inequalities.
Keywords
- Gender Quotas
- Corporate Boards
- Gender Inequality
- Glass Ceiling
- Women Professional Careers