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Breaking the Boardroom Ceiling: A Study on Gender Balance on the Boards of Swedish Listed Companies on Nasdaq OMX Stockholm

Hövel, Hedda LU (2023) EOSK12 20231
Department of Economic History
Abstract
Sweden is considered one of the most prominent countries for gender equality, with relatively high levels of female board members at publicly listed companies. However, the EU Law on Gender Balance on Boards implemented in 2022 adds pressure for Sweden to maintain, and improve, gender distribution on boards since Sweden was able to opt out of the law. There is a lack of research on the topic for Sweden at a company level, both in terms of all listed companies but also on differences between sectors Thereby, this thesis investigated to what extent Swedish listed companies have complied with the requirements of the EU law on Gender Balance on Boards between the years 2015-2022, as well as investigated potential differences between sectors.... (More)
Sweden is considered one of the most prominent countries for gender equality, with relatively high levels of female board members at publicly listed companies. However, the EU Law on Gender Balance on Boards implemented in 2022 adds pressure for Sweden to maintain, and improve, gender distribution on boards since Sweden was able to opt out of the law. There is a lack of research on the topic for Sweden at a company level, both in terms of all listed companies but also on differences between sectors Thereby, this thesis investigated to what extent Swedish listed companies have complied with the requirements of the EU law on Gender Balance on Boards between the years 2015-2022, as well as investigated potential differences between sectors. Through a quantitative approach and the usage of secondary data collected from reliable databases, examined in the light of three theoretical frameworks and previous literature, this thesis finds that a majority (67%) of the companies in the sample complied with the EU law in 2022. Additionally, significant differences between sectors were identified, with a majority of the companies within the STEM field having lower levels of female board members than the companies of other fields. (Less)
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author
Hövel, Hedda LU
supervisor
organization
course
EOSK12 20231
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
corporate governance, gender equality, female board members, Nasdaq OMX Stockholm
language
English
id
9131673
date added to LUP
2023-08-30 08:07:30
date last changed
2023-08-30 08:07:30
@misc{9131673,
  abstract     = {{Sweden is considered one of the most prominent countries for gender equality, with relatively high levels of female board members at publicly listed companies. However, the EU Law on Gender Balance on Boards implemented in 2022 adds pressure for Sweden to maintain, and improve, gender distribution on boards since Sweden was able to opt out of the law. There is a lack of research on the topic for Sweden at a company level, both in terms of all listed companies but also on differences between sectors Thereby, this thesis investigated to what extent Swedish listed companies have complied with the requirements of the EU law on Gender Balance on Boards between the years 2015-2022, as well as investigated potential differences between sectors. Through a quantitative approach and the usage of secondary data collected from reliable databases, examined in the light of three theoretical frameworks and previous literature, this thesis finds that a majority (67%) of the companies in the sample complied with the EU law in 2022. Additionally, significant differences between sectors were identified, with a majority of the companies within the STEM field having lower levels of female board members than the companies of other fields.}},
  author       = {{Hövel, Hedda}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Breaking the Boardroom Ceiling: A Study on Gender Balance on the Boards of Swedish Listed Companies on Nasdaq OMX Stockholm}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}