Discrimination or diversity? A balanced score card review of perceptions of gender quotas : prepared in partial fulfilment of a Master of Business Studies, Massey University (Albany)
Loading...
Date
2019
DOI
Open Access Location
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Massey University
Rights
The Author
Abstract
Creating an economy where gender equality is at the forefront could be claimed to be
beneficial to most, if not all, citizens and countries. Recent mandates of gender reporting at
the Director and Officer levels have created a dichotomous environment in New Zealand.
Taking learnings from other countries experiences with quotas, with a particular focus on
Norway, adds insight into what could happen if implementation were to occur. Using
qualitative interviews across a diverse group of participants, this study investigates current
perspectives and implications of gender quotas. Understanding the role of the board to govern
and design organisational strategy, the Balanced Score Card was selected as a clear
instrument for analysis and recommendations. This exploration showcases the complexity of
equity strategy as a component of board construction and the realisation that gender alone
will not deliver a diverse board of directors. Empowered by the BSC structure, this effort
delivers a recommendation for driving organisational change through diversity programming
and contributes to academic discourse through a business outcome focused approach to
qualitative research. Findings display that social policy does have a place in the boardroom,
but that efforts must be measured and documented consistently over time, a process that is
lacking in many NZ firms. Further, outcomes from the study show that quotas are not
preferred as a tool for gender equity with just 27.78% of participants supporting the concept.
This study makes a three-fold contribution: first, it investigates a broader range of
participants than does existing NZ work, second, it leverages the Balanced Score Card for
analysis to support real-time application of findings by practitioners outside of the academic
sphere, and third, it introduces gender diversity as an element of gender quotas.
Description
Keywords
Directors of corporations, Executives, New Zealand, Attitudes, Women executives, Statistics, Sex discrimination in employment, Affirmative action programs, gender equality, corporate governance, equity, Norway, stereotypes, diversity management, leadership strategy, balanced score card, human resource management, employment relations, business strategy