In the spring of 2002, Norway’s male minister of trade and industry from the center-right of the political spectrum, Ansgar Gabrielsen, announced that he was “shit tired” of “the boys’ club” dominating corporate Norway. “People will be surprised to see the radical means I’m willing to apply,” he warned.
When a 40 percent quota for women on the boards of public companies was enacted the next year, 10 leading CEOs told the press that it wouldn’t work, and they didn’t know where to find the women. Tech entrepreneur Une Amundsen was pictured in the nation’s leading financial paper with his head in his hands. “Who could find these women?” he moaned. “Where would they be? Will we find them on a website as another escort service?”
