Includes bibliographical references and index.

Cover; Title; Copyright; Contents; List of figures; List of tables; List of contributors; PART I Overview; Introduction; PART II Concepts and models; 1 Women on corporate boards: backgrounds, drivers and mechanisms; 2 Gender diversity on boards in Norway and the UK: a different approach to governance or a case of path dependency?; 3 Regulation of the gender composition of company boards in Europe: experience and prospects; PART III Regulation and compliance; 4 Gender balance in Australian boardrooms: the business case for quotas.
5 Women on corporate boards in Poland and Estonia in the context of the EU gender equality policy6 Socio-economic perspective on women on boards: an African perspective; 7 Women's experiences in top management teams (TMTs): the case of Israeli national majority and national minority women; PART IV Business practice; 8 Female entrepreneurship and boardroom diversity: the case of Russia; 9 Female representation on Swedish corporate boards; 10 Females on corporate boards: French perspectives: towards more diversity?
11 The 2017 New Zealand Stock Exchange directors' network analysis and the effect of 'soft' reporting regimes on board diversity12 Women on boards: perspectives from BRIC and Turkey; PART V Conclusion; Conclusion: women on boards: what will be the next step?; Index.

"Female presence and involvement on boards improves firm performance, transforms corporate governance andleads to the transition towards more responsible business. Corporate boards are essential bodies for governance and management and their efficiency determinea companys performance. The board is a crucial element of the corporate governance structure and its efficiency and performance determines the success of the operation and monitoring of the company. The board is viewed as the liaison between providers of capital (shareholders) and managers who use this capital to create value. The board role is to represent, formulate and fulfill the interests and expectations of shareholders as the owners of the companies. The discussionsurrounding femaleparticipation in business inevitably needs to refer to their presence on corporate boards. It is also a reliable indicator ofa gender equalitypolicy and advancement, adopted by countries and companies. The book traces the logic behind the decision patterns of female involvement in governance and management. In particular, it identifies the patternsof women's presence on corporate boards, with respect to theoretical and conceptual argumentation, policy and regulatory implication, as well aspractical adaptation. The phenomenon of women on corporate boards is analyzed in the context of different political, cultural and institutional environment addressing challenges in both developed and emerging economies. The role of female directors is viewed as one of the crucial aspects in corporate governance, adding to the quality of control and management." --Provided by publisher.