Training and Development Commons^™

Examining The United Kingdom’S Soft Law Approach For Women On Boards With Regard To Gender Diversity And The Gender Pay Gap: A Regression Discontinuity Design, Silvana Chambers

Human Resource Development Theses and Dissertations

In an effort to remove barriers that hinder women’s advancement in the workplace, legislators have adopted gender quotas and targets to increase the numbers of women on boards (WOB). In 2011, the Davies Review rolled out the guidelines of the United Kingdom’s soft law approach for increasing the proportion of WOB in the largest publicly listed organizations. Promoted by advocates and proponents of WOB initiatives, the assumption that inequality is perpetuated by men and not women, has resulted in the expectation that WOB initiatives are a top-down approach to achieve gender equality in the workforce. This study examined the effects …