31/01/2008 :: According to Norwegian law, women must fill 40 per cent of the country’s corporate board seats. Norway’s work with gender equality has been noticed by the world, and now also by Malaysia. The 4th of January a two page article in the New Straits Time described how the Norwegian equality rights have developed over the years and made a difference in Norwegian working life.
The Norwegian law was passed in 2004, and most companies have already complied. Norway with its 4.7 million inhabitants has the highest ratio of female directors worldwide, and more women than men in the government. Norway was the first country in the Europe to accept female political candidates when it introduced universal suffrage in 1913. The first Norwegian female prime minister, Mrs. Gro Harlem Brundtland, appointed 8 female ministers of a total of 18 Cabinet posts when she took office a second time in 1986. Her initiative has had a very postive influence on increasing the number of women in leading positions in Government as well as in business.