1.3.3 Practical relevance

This PhD research will provide insight into how gender equality at the corporate top can be achieved by means of governmental and organizational interventions in the Netherlands. The research generates (in-depth) knowledge about interventions adopted and implemented by governments and companies. It furthermore generates in-depth knowledge about the number and type of organizational interventions implemented by companies and insights into the perceived effectiveness of such interventions.

Governments can use the results of this research for designing appropriate governmental interventions and legislation to foster gender equality at the corporate top.1 The research can inform governments about whether gender quota is the best means for promoting women in the corporate top. The research is especially relevant for the Dutch Senate, as the insights gained therefrom can be used in its deliberations on the proposed gender quota legislation that are scheduled to take place after the 2021 summer recess.2 The research informs governments about whether, and in what way, gender quota alone are the best means for promoting women in the corporate top, and these insights can also stimulate governments to think about other interventions beyond gender quota. The findings of this research are also of relevance for (Dutch) ministries that are working on policies and interventions targeting gender equality at the corporate top. The research may also incentivize employers’ organizations, such as the Dutch employers’ organization VNO-NCW,3 to promote certain types of interventions among their members. The research is also relevant for the Dutch Corporate Governance Committee as the interventions identified in this research can serve as best practices for companies seeking to enhance their corporate governance.

The results of this research are also relevant for companies, and especially human resources departments within companies, that are seeking to design organizational interventions to effectively promote women to the corporate top. The research has identified numerous organizational interventions that can be implemented by companies that have no interventions in place yet. It can also inform and inspire companies that already have organizational interventions in place to implement other (types of) interventions. Companies can learn from the outcomes of this research and can implement additional interventions or revise existing interventions aimed at promoting women in the top of their company. It can also challenge companies to act as an inspiration for others: to act as a ‘role model’ by virtue of the interventions that they have implemented and by showing that their interventions have made the corporate top of their organizations more gender equal.

The research is equally relevant for NGOs advocating a more equitable society and workplace in their campaigning and lobbying activities. Examples of such NGOs are the Dutch NGOs Women Inc4 and WO=MEN.5

Importantly, this research is not only relevant for institutions, but also for society at large. The research is particularly relevant for anyone aspiring to a career and equal opportunities in the workplace. It will increase both their awareness and the awareness of the organization for which they work regarding existing barriers to women’s advancement. Employees at companies that have not yet implemented interventions can raise awareness among colleagues and people at the corporate top regarding possible organizational interventions that could be implemented.