[farlander]

This was acouple of years ago. Looks like EU is lukewarmly trying to stop it :

Female quota can be halted

Regulations demanding that at least 40 percent of a Norwegian company's board members must be women may be stopped by European authorities.

The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) watchdog group ESA (EFTA Surveillance Authority) is now starting a formal investigation of the Norwegian regulations, newspaper Nationen reports.

Norwegian authorities have threatened firms with fines if they do not meet the 40 percent women mark in their corporate boards.

"We have not decided if the law is in order or not but we have asked for more information in order to investigate if the law is in accord with EEA (European Economic Area) legislation," Hallgrimur Asgeirsson, director at ESA's Internal Market Affairs Directorate, told the newspaper.

ESA will check if the Norwegian regulations conflict with the European Union directive forbidding positive discrimination.

"A possible outcome of an interim investigation, at least theoretically, is that the Norwegian law can be stopped. One can imagine that, in theory, the Norwegian rules conflict with EU equality regulations," law professor Hans Petter Graver told Nationen.

[Last Dakotan]

Sorry, I thought they said company bedrooms.

[Enchante]

Why settle at only 40%? If quotas are allowed and Norway wants to be the perfect "egalitarian" society then everything should be divided 50-50 (or 51-49 or whatever the sex balance might be in the population). Heck, why stop at boardroom slots??? That's small potatoes compared to socialist control of every aspect of economic life.... Everyone should be required to fork over 100% of their earnings to the state for the nanny-state to distribute with perfect "equity" as it sees fit..... don't stop with mere grubby dollars and cents issues, Norway should require that everyone have sex just as often as physically possible, with everyone in sight on some perfectly random "equitable" basis, so that no one ever feels neglected or disadvantaged or slighted by the free choices made by individuals. That may seem like a far-fetched example, but it's not: the Euro-twit-socialists want to abolish free choice (except for women to murder their babies) and use the government to force everyone to live by socialist weenie dictates.

[LoneRangerMassachusetts]

Have the Norwegians yet met a forty percent workforce in garbarge collecting?

[Izzy Dunne]

the European Union directive forbidding positive discrimination.

OK, exactly what is "positive" discrimination, I wonder.

P.S. Welcome to America, and congratulations on your citizenship.

[freespirited]

Part of me hopes really hopes these lunatics go through with it. Within a year, there will be mass resignations, with the most intense competition being for contracts to write a book about how the boardroom isn't what its cracked up to be.

Working Title: Take this Directorship and Shove It.

[Hodar]

You just gotta know what the average person is saying to themselves....

"Great, I'm busting my behind to get ahead; and the qualifications I'm missing aren't based upon education, experience or accomplishments, but the fact that I don't have a rack."

[frankjr]

Norway: Sell short.

[Cronos]

"Men recruit men. We all recruit people who are like ourselves, and men are in power"

The second part is partly right -- we do look for the same quality in a hiree, but the best corporations have an eclectic mix of characteristics to ensure all viewpoints are heard -- but the first is plain wrong. For my part I've seen many women in my field who meet the characteristics needed -- hard-nosed, technically brilliant and hard-working. I'd be a fool if I'd passed over them in favor of a man who was less able.

[TheBattman]

Quotas, quotas everywhere - what a wonderful way to get less-than quality workers (or college students, etc.).

If folks REALLY are concerned with "fairness" (despite what the liberals of this world might insist on telling us they support), then just hiring folks based on their actual skills and qualifications is what's needed.

If I were the one doing the hiring, I would want the MOST QUALIFIED, BEST PERSON for the job - that's what is in my best interest.

Duh!

[ican'tbelieveit]

Ok, coming from a woman:

1st, as a single mom, if I had a choice to stay home, I would.

2nd, as a bright woman, the only boardroom I would really want to be involved in would be for my own company.

[dr_who_2]

Europe is like the titanic, and European leaders have made it their job to rearrange the deck chairs since 1991.

[lepton]

"Here in Norway we have what we call an old boys' network. The typical board member is male, over 55 years of age and has a background in law and economics.

They need more 15-year-old board members with no background in anything.

[vpintheak]

Man they are dumber than dog crap over there. Seriously. Nothing against women at all. But dang, dumb.

[Billthedrill]

Hmm...the Norway that tries to protect women? You mean THIS Norway?

[Chewbacca]

Just out of curiosity, if all the CEO board positions are occupied, do they have to:

A) Create more positions and suck more money from the company to pay the new salary of the female employee?

B) Fire some man who is actually working at his job to make the company successful and replace him with some woman that has no experience?

C) Wait for a man to leave or quit his CEO position and then higher a woman, and does she have to compete for the job with other people or is this a social welfare job that the woman gets because she has boobs?

[You Dirty Rats]

One can imagine that, in theory, the Norwegian rules conflict with EU equality regulations," law professor Hans Petter Graver told Nationen.

Norway is not a member of the EU. EU regulations are no more binding on Norway than Scottish Law is on the US Senate or Foreign Law is on SCOTUS.

[<1/1,000,000th%]

State-owned firms have just 12 months to comply; the country's 650 public companies have three years.

If they already require quotas for other government jobs, what's the difference in requiring quotas for these government jobs?