Abstract

This article aims to contribute to women’s business history by linking research on corporate networks with research on female directors. To do so, we investigate the effect of the Swiss corporate network on the entry of women into boardrooms, and the effect of board feminisation on the Swiss corporate network and elites. We draw on a large database of Swiss elites, which includes board members and chief executive officers (CEOs) of the 110 largest Swiss firms from the beginning of the twentieth century to the present. The results show that during the twentieth century, a dense corporate network and a strong class cohesion within the male economic elites made it very difficult for women to gain access to these boards. A few female directors were first found in family firms, then in cooperatives within the wholesale and retail trade sector. They did not accumulate positions of power like men and remained ‘second-class’ elites. At the end of the twentieth century, equality was perceived as potentially profitable for firms. This led to an increase in the presence of female directors in all firms, the diversification of their profiles, and the emergence of a female ‘inner circle’. The assertion of board diversity must, however, be tempered by recognising the enduring geographical and social backgrounds of a large proportion of the directors.

摘要

本文旨在通过将企业网络研究与女性董事研究联系起来，为女性商业史做出贡献。为此，我们调查了瑞士企业网络对女性进入董事会的影响，以及董事会女性化对瑞士企业网络和精英的影响。我们利用了一个庞大的瑞士精英数据库，其中包括从 20 世纪初至今的 110 家最大的瑞士公司的董事会成员和首席执行官 (CEO)。结果表明，在 20 世纪，密集的企业网络和男性经济精英内部强大的阶级凝聚力使女性很难进入这些董事会。少数女性董事首先出现在家族企业中，然后出现在批发和零售贸易部门的合作社中。他们没有像男人那样积累权力地位，仍然是“二等”精英。在 20 世纪末，平等被认为对公司有利。这导致所有公司中女性董事人数的增加，她们的形象多样化，以及女性“核心圈子”的出现。然而，必须通过承认大部分董事的持久地理和社会背景来缓和董事会多元化的主张。