Stop Saying Quotas “Don’t Work” Because They Demonstrably Do

The New York City Council announced new legislation this week that seeks to address gender and racial disparities in the FDNY, with the goal of creating a fire department that better reflects the diversity of the city it serves (currently, the vast majority of the department—76%—is made up of white men, with Black firefighters only accounting for 8%, and women representing less than 1%). And as has come to be expected when diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives are pushed forward, out come the cries of “quotas,” of unfairness and discrimination. Over the last 50 years, one of the bugaboos of those who are resistant to change and happy with the status quo—in business, media, and just about every public sphere alike—has been the quota. It’s been turned into a dirty word to such a degree that even those who see a need for inclusivity shy away from it, as if there is something inherently anti-meritocratic in deciding, in advance, that a percentage of seats at the table should be set out for qualified members from historically underrepresented groups. The problem, naysayers would have you believe, is that quotas result in unqualified candidates taking positions away from qualified ones (a belief that typically comes with assumptions about what exactly a qualified candidate looks like—and who doesn’t fit the part). Indeed, the merest presence of diversity in an office, on screen, on the ballot, or really in a position with any visibility can result in accusations that quotas have unfairly tipped the scales and handed out something that wasn’t deserved.

Strange, isn’t it, how it’s always women, people of color, and those from other marginalized communities who are preemptively assumed to be unqualified “diversity hires,” as if there are simply no candidates among those demographics capable and best for the job. It’s a time-honored refrain from a song those against quotas seem to love singing: that the real problem isn’t systemic inequality but the slightest effort to address it. And frustratingly, mainstream American thought has largely conceded the point that quotas “don’t work” for some nebulous reason it has never articulated. The central claim, that quotas don’t work, is rarely examined, let alone addressed.

So, do quotas work?

The answer, as it turns out, is pretty clearly yes, and a recent study showed just how effective they can be, along with their downstream effects. Let’s get into it.

First, it’s worth pointing out that diversity is actually good for business. Literally. Companies with diverse boards of directors have been shown to outperform their competitors. These companies are less prone to stock instability, demonstrate increased investment in development, and see higher ROI for investors. The evidence has shown that the more diverse a board—in all forms—the better an organization performs overall. And critically, according to a recent study published in the American Journal of Political Science, boards with quotas for women create more gender inclusive and equity-oriented policies that have a meaningful impact not only on women’s working conditions, but also on the men they work with—ultimately improving workplace culture for everyone. The study, by Harvard University’s Audrey Latura and Ana Catalano Weeks, found that addressing the issue of diversity at the top through quotas has positive knock-on effects that ripple throughout the organization.

The study examined gender equality at almost 1,000 companies in both Italy and Greece over the same period of time following Italy’s 2011 passage of a mandated gender quota for corporate boards, with Greece (a comparable economy with no such policy) serving as a control. Between 2011 and 2019, women’s share of board seats in Italy grew from 5% to 36%; in Greece, the growth has only been from 6% to 9% over the same period. The report distinguished between companies that implemented the quota above the mean and those that failed to meet it.

Latura and Catalano Weeks concluded in this, perhaps the first major study of the question, that yes, quotas in board composition have real and measurable impacts on conditions for women throughout the company. The impact is stark; by their measurements, attention to gender equality issues increased by upwards of 50%, even increasing the importance that both women and men within an organization assign to these issues. The study also found that whether mandated by a government or a corporation itself, quotas should function largely the same, which is to say that the results should be replicable in economies where private companies are able to step in and make up for gaps in social policy—specifically in areas of pay disparity, leadership, and (overwhelmingly) the care and maintenance of family (through policies like flexible working hours, leave for new parents, and in-facility childcare).

So if businesses want to start making headway in diversity, quotas at the top are a proven, effective place to start. The evidence suggests that having a wealth of diversity in the boardroom not only makes a company more competitive, but also has a meaningful, lasting impact on working conditions for every employee, with quotas working as a “conduit to women’s leadership.” That is, quotas led to not only increased diversity, but also policies that further facilitate diverse leadership. In other words, quotas actually do work. Quite well, in fact. They can help jumpstart not only more inclusive hiring, but create a more equitable, healthy company culture, positively impact attitudes toward diversity, and ultimately strengthen recruitment and employee retention and, in turn, foster more diverse leadership (all while making companies more profitable and innovative).

There’s a long, storied literature of anti-quota polemic out there: quotas are anti-democratic, anti-meritocratic, lead to charges of tokenism, or are simply ineffective. Yet the numbers and results say otherwise. Having more diverse boards bolsters workplace culture in ways that are felt throughout an organization and that ultimately make companies stronger performers and better places to work—and it does so remarkably quickly. That’s the plain truth. So no more excuses. Let’s make it happen!