Swedish Women Win in Parliament but Not in Boardrooms

STOCKHOLM, Sept. 15, 2009 — -- Sweden is the best country in the world when it comes to gender equality, according to the World Economic Forum, landing at 0.8146 on a gender gap index where 1.0 equals full equality. All Nordic countries, except Denmark, dominate the top of the list of the 128 countries surveyed. The United States is ranked at 31 and Japan at 91, while Yemen, Pakistan, Nepal and Bhutan linger at the bottom.

But some people say Sweden, which prides itself on its gender equality and a 47.3 percent female representation in Parliament, still has far to go and that it is moving too slowly.

Sweden's minister for Enterprise and Energy, Maud Olofsson, and the minister for Integration and Equality, Nyamko Sabuni, sent an open letter in the spring to the country's 342 listed companies.

In it, they asked the companies to explain why their boards only had an average of 19 percent women on them, and what the companies were doing to raise that figure. In comparison, state-run companies have an average of 49 percent women on their boards.

The companies were also asked about what gender-equality programs they had in place for their staffs -- something they are required to keep by Swedish law.

The reaction was not what Olofsson and Sabuni had expected. About two-thirds of the companies did not reply.

Lawyer Claes Borgström, a spokesman for gender issues for the Social Democratic party and the former director of the Office of the Equality Opportunities Ombudsman, said the tepid response was not surprising.

"The business world has had plenty of time to do something about this," he said. "The reason why we aren't seeing much progress, if any, is the lack of will. If you want something, you can do it."

For years, Swedish politicians, business leaders and debaters have discussed a possible gender quota for the corporate boardrooms. Some people say it is an issue the companies should decide on themselves and that it is more effective to start at lower levels in the companies rather than at the top.

But others see the company board not only as a crucial symbol, but also as an instrumental factor, because the board appoints the chairman and the CEO -- roles with great influence over the company's culture and activity.