Already in Norway, all employers have a duty to actively promote gender equality and to report annually on how they do it. However, the former center-right government decided to go further and proposed legislation to ensure more equality in positions at the very top.

The Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise, an umbrella organization for the country's employers, say they have been working to increase female board representation ever since the law was proposed. Among the group's members, the percentage of women on corporate boards has risen from 6 to 21 percent in the past three years.

Bleak picture in EU

Elsewhere in Europe, women have had little success reaching the upper echelons of business. According to 1999 data from the International Labor Organization, only 5.1 percent of executive management positions in the top 500 US companies were held by women, whereas in France this number was 4.7 percent, compared to 3.6 percent in Britain and just three percent in Germany.

The ranks get even thinner when it comes to board seats.