France takes a shot at breaking glass ceilnigs

Norway and Spain have done it and now France is attempting to do so – eliminating glass ceilings by legislative mandate. A bill is going through the French legislature that would require big companies to appoint women to 40% of their boardroom seats. The bill is expected to become law later this year.
In 2002 Norway enacted a 40% law and Spain has since followed suit. While on its face this law seems like a good thing, I don’t think it is. There are certainly enough qualified women to fill those positions but my concern is that the attitudes that constructed and reinforced glass ceilings in the first place will remain unchanged.
The men in those big French companies will forever look at women as being unqualified for the positions they hold because the only way women got those positions was by fiat, not achievement.
Wherever glass ceilings exist, government should only do so much. In America, the government has enacted EEO and Title IX laws that have done some good in creating equal opportunities for women. My belief is that women will break glass ceilings for good through grassroots efforts by women and men alike. Laws cannot change attitudes and it is only through enlightened self-interest that glass ceilings will be smashed once and for all. A quota system based upon gender segregation, as what the Europeans are utilizing is not the answer.