Requirements for Board Composition in Corporations

The plan stipulates that patriarchal structures shall actively be broken down and that publicly owned businesses shall be the model, and that an expansion of women's power and influence necessarily means a restriction for men. It also believes that demands shall be placed on employers to counteract discrimination. A legal requirement of at least 40 percent women in boards in listed and publicly owned companies is such a structural reform, even though quotas are not specifically mentioned.

• break down patriarchal structuresdecisive»Patriarkala strukturer ska aktivt brytas ned.« (party programme ↗)“Patriarchal structures shall actively be broken down.”
• publicly owned businesses as model»Samhällsägda företag ska vara föredömen« (party programme ↗)“Publicly owned businesses shall be the model”
• redistributed power between genders»En utvidgning av kvinnors makt, inflytande, utrymme och inkomster kommer att innebära en inskränkning för män« (party programme ↗)“An expansion of women's power, influence, space and income will mean a restriction for men”
• demands on employers»Krav ska ställas på arbetsköparna« (party programme ↗)“Demands shall be placed on employers”

The plan is based on the gender power order being a systematic power structure that should be broken and the party being feminist, with equal rights and equal responsibilities for women and men. It also establishes that economic interests never have the right to set limits on democracy, which opens the way for legislation on corporate boards. Quotas are not mentioned in the plan, so the support is derived from these commitments.

• the gender power order should be brokendecisive»En tydlig maktstruktur är det som kallas könsmaktsordningen« (party programme ↗)“A clear power structure is what is called the gender power order”
• feminist party»Med denna grundsyn är socialdemokratin ett feministiskt parti.« (party programme ↗)“With this principle, the Social Democrats is a feminist party.”
• democracy over capital»har aldrig rätt att sätta gränser för demokratin.« (party programme ↗)“never have the right to set limits on democracy.”
• society without subordination»Socialdemokratin vill se ett samhälle utan över- och underordning« (party programme ↗)“The Social Democrats want to see a society without hierarchy”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan explicitly states that gender quotas on corporate boards are necessary to achieve equality. It also wants to see a society where ownership is evenly distributed between women and men. A bill proposing at least 40 per cent women on the boards of listed and publicly owned companies is precisely that commitment.

• gender quotas on corporate boardsdecisive»Könskvotering till bolagsstyrelser behövs« (party programme ↗)“Gender quotas on corporate boards are necessary”
• evenly distributed ownership»Vi vill se ett samhälle där ägandet är jämnt fördelat mellan män och kvinnor« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We want to see a society where ownership is evenly distributed between men and women”
• equal conditions in working life»höja lönerna i kvinnodominerade yrken till samma nivåer som i mansdominerade yrken« (2022 manifesto ↗)“raise wages in female-dominated professions to the same levels as in male-dominated professions”

The plan is feminist but builds on the principle that we shall be treated as the individuals we are and not based on gender, and it rejects planned economy directives in a market economy while keeping property rights central. Statutory quota for board seats is precisely such a collective intervention in owners' decisions. The plan's own tools for economic equality are instead reformed security systems and equitably distributed venture capital, not quotas.

• the individual before genderdecisive»I ett liberalt samhälle behandlas vi utifrån de individer vi är« (party programme ↗)“In a liberal society we are treated as the individuals we are”
• equality through other tools»Vi vill reformera trygghetssystemet så att fler kvinnor kan satsa på enreprenörskap och se till att statligt riskkapital fördelas mer jämställt.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We want to reform the security system so that more women can pursue entrepreneurship and ensure that state venture capital is distributed more equitably.”
• strong property rights»Äganderätten är central för ett samhälle där människor kan förverkliga sig själva och sina drömmar.« (party programme ↗)“Property rights are central to a society where people can realize themselves and their dreams.”

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The plan sees the lack of women in business leadership positions as a power problem, but its tools are that the public sector leads by example in its own companies and agencies and that pressure on employers increases – not legislated quota for stock company boards. The plan's feminism is explicitly liberal and rejects that politicians equalize outcomes. A legal requirement for at least 40 per cent women thus lies outside the plan's line.

• public sector leads by exampledecisive»Det offentliga har ett ansvar att verka för jämställd tillgång till makt« (party programme ↗)“The public sector has a responsibility to work for equal access to power”
• pressure without legal quota»Vi vill öka trycket på arbetsgivare att erbjuda jämställda löner och villkor« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We want to increase pressure on employers to offer equal pay and terms”
• liberal feminism»Feminism utan socialism.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Feminism without socialism.”
• underrepresentation is a problem»Bristen på kvinnor i näringslivets högsta positioner är ett betydande maktproblem som inte kan accepteras.« (party programme ↗)“The lack of women in business's highest positions is a significant power problem that cannot be accepted.”

The party programme emphasizes that gender equality work is not just about legislation but also about opinion formation and attitude change, and that the market economy is based on people being free to own and manage businesses. Politicians should resist the temptation to unnecessarily interfere. Legislated quotas for stock exchange company boards therefore lack support in the plan, despite its strong gender equality goals.

• opinion formation, not just lawdecisive»utan även om opinionsbildning och attitydförändringar.« (party programme ↗)“but also about opinion formation and attitude change.”
• free property rights to businesses»Marknadsekonomin bygger på att människor enskilt eller i olika former av samverkan fritt kan äga, förvärva och förvalta egendom och företag.« (party programme ↗)“The market economy is based on people individually or in various forms of cooperation being free to own, acquire and manage property and businesses.”
• politics shall not interfere»Politiker måste motstå frestelsen att i onödan lägga sig i.« (party programme ↗)“Politicians must resist the temptation to unnecessarily interfere.”
• gender equality in all policy»Jämställdhetsperspektivet ska genomsyra alla politikområden.« (party programme ↗)“The gender equality perspective shall permeate all policy areas.”

The plan rejects quotas as a method and says a firm no to quota experiments; freedoms and rights belong to individuals and never to collectives. Equality shall be achieved through greater life chances and self-determination, not through demands for exact outcomes. The plan's path to economic equality is increased self-sufficiency and ownership, which argues against a legal requirement for at least 40 percent women on boards.

• the individual before the collectivedecisive»Fri- och rättigheter tillhör individer och aldrig« (party programme ↗)“Freedoms and rights belong to individuals and never”
• no to quotas»Vi säger därför bestämt nej till storskaliga experiment med kvotering, lottning eller tvångsbussning av elever.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We therefore firmly say no to large-scale experiments with quotas, lotteries or forced busing of students.”
• life chances not outcome requirements»större livschanser, inte krav på exakta eller« (party programme ↗)“greater life chances, not demands for exact”
• self-determination through work»Ökad självförsörjning ger ökad egenmakt.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Increased self-sufficiency gives increased self-determination.”

The plan establishes that real equality is not achieved through political measures that create the same outcomes at the group level, but through formal equality where no one is treated unequally because of gender. A legal requirement that at least 40 percent of board members be women is precisely such outcome-steering and is therefore rejected by the plan. The plan expresses itself directly about the committee's reasons that legislated quotas are not the right way.

• no outcome targets at group leveldecisive»Riktig jämställdhet nås inte genom att vidta politiska åtgärder för att på gruppnivå skapa samma utfall mellan män och kvinnor, utan genom att ta krafttag mot samhällsfenomen som begränsar den enskilde.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Real equality is not achieved by taking political measures to create the same outcomes at the group level between men and women, but by taking action against social phenomena that constrain the individual.”
• formal equality»jämställdhet där varken kvinnor eller män skall särbehandlas på basis av sin könstillhörighet« (party programme ↗)“equality where neither women nor men shall be treated unequally on the basis of their gender”
• no positive unequal treatment»negativ eller positiv särbehandling på basis av kön, ålder, sexuell läggning, nationalitet« (party programme ↗)“negative or positive unequal treatment on the basis of gender, age, sexual orientation, nationality”
• no unequal treatment because of gender»Motverka diskriminering och särbehandling p.g.a. kön« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Counter discrimination and unequal treatment because of gender”

The stance rests on the quoted commitment in the party's own documents; the actual vote deviated. Click the quote to verify it in the document.