Gender representation in corporate governance: a comparison between legal systems

In recent years the view consensus is that gender diversity in corporate boards is an important goal of the economic community. This opinion is based on two primary claims. The first is that diversity provides equal opportunities in the labour market. The second increasingly common claim is that diversity will improve organizational processes and firm performance. The law can play a fundamental role for the achievement of a satisfying gender balance in the allocation of the apical roles of the targeted companies. However, the legal solutions that can be adopted to achieve this goal vary substantially, either from the point of view of the technique adopted by the relevant legislators or as to the substance of the regulation, which depends on the selection of the targeted entities, their specific obligations and the tools that they should adopt to fulfil them.

Keywords: Law, corporate governance, gender diversity, hard law, soft law

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