Norway leads the way on Gender Legislation

 In 2003, an amendment to the Gender Equality Act came into force stipulating that the public authorities and employers alike shall make' systematic, targeted efforts to promote gender equality, and shall provide an annual account of the measures implemented to promote gender equality. ' This amendment has seen women with multiple boardroom jobs rise from 6% in 2002 to 40% today, giving Norway the highest proportion of female board members in the world.

However, although more women are becoming managers,  only 1 out 5 executive managers are women,  and they are are seen most frequently seen amongst  the middle managers, particularly in  teaching, health and social services.

Sweden has in the past proposed a similar law but it was never passed due to a change in government,  however just the mere hint of  a new law has been enough to increase the number of women on Swedish boards.  

Spain is seen as the next most progressive country after Norway,   in 2007 an equality law was introduced  that recommended that women have ' equal ' representation to men,  defined  as 40 %  to men's 60% on boards by 2015.  This law unlike the Norwegian version does not threat to close down non-compliant companies,  but does suggest that if a company  wants government  work it should 'comply'