When companies consistently fail to put women into leadership positions, a quota system has proven to be an effective remedy. In Norway, the representation of women on company boards jumped from 5 per cent in 2000 to 40 per cent in 2007 after an official quota was introduced.
In India, there was a rush to appoint female relatives to the boards of stock exchange-listed companies by the March 31 deadline set by the market regulator. The Securities and Exchange Board of India wanted companies to have at least one woman on their boards; many simply took the easiest route to this and appointed a female relative of an existing director.
Is this good or bad? Nepotism would appear to defeat the purpose of the quota system, which is to empower all women, but it is still a positive step forward. One has to start somewhere, even if it is within the family. Nepotism today, meritocracy tomorrow?
