SETTING THE EXXAMPLE. Even small steps forward are good news. Boards of companies in the Russell 3000 Index are almost half way to gender parity, according to Equilar on Thursday. The consultancy’s gender diversity index stood at 0.49 at the end of March, where 1.0 represents equal representation by women and men. That’s a couple of notches better than in December. Nearly a quarter of board seats are now held by women, up from 15% at the end of 2016. U.S. stakeholder and legislative pressure is working, if only gradually. For the first time, the proportion of companies with no women serving as directors fell below 5%. California, home to the most companies in the survey, had only one of 489 boards without female representation. The state counted 86 Russell 3000 boards with no X chromosomal pairs in 2018 when it introduced a law requiring women on boards. Mandatory quotas remain controversial but provide impetus for change . Maybe soon, more companies will tip the scales with a majority of women, like General Motors(GM.N). (By Richard Beales) On Twitter http://twitter.com/breakingviews Earlier in Capital Calls: Britain’s railways go back to the future read more Binge drinking fears validate pricey booze model read more Oaktree puts Inter Milan into financial extra time read more Qantas squirms in its first-class seat read more Retail sales’ wild ride read more