Norway: The 500 companies listed on Norway's stock exchange face being shut down unless they install women on their boards over the next two years in a radical initiative imposed by a government determined to help women break through the "glass ceiling".
Norwegian companies face a two-year deadline to ensure that women hold 40 per cent of the seats of each listed company.
The requirement came into effect at the start of the year after companies had been given two years to comply voluntarily.
State-owned companies are already obliged to comply and now have 45 per cent representation of women on their boards.
The failure of companies to act - about half of listed companies are estimated to have no women on their boards - has prompted the Norwegian equality minister, Karita Bekkemellem, to take the draconian step of threatening firms with closure. - (Guardian service)