Board Diversity, the Logic of Difference & the Logic of Equivalence: : A Critical Study of the Emergence of Corporate Democracy

Within the corporate governance literature the notion of diversity has emerged as an important regulatory mechanism (See for example the Tyson Report 2003). This interest has emerged in part due to various national legislative reforms introducing mandatory quotas for female directors. As the debate surrounding these reforms emerges and begins to take form, it is important that the prevailing paradigm of democracy is not taken for granted but is subject to critical scrutiny. Drawing on Ernesto Laclau's On Populist Reason in particular, the paper attempts to problematize notions of difference and representational democracy that lie at the heart of the reforms. The aim of the paper is to stimulate further debate on the democratizing potential of the recent political interventions in the composition of the boards of directors.