Background - During the last two decades, discussions about corporate governance in relation to gender diversity on boards have been central. Sweden is one of the countries in the world with the highest gender equality, despite this; women are still underrepresented on corporate boards.

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to examine the development of female representation in corporate boards between 2011-2015. The study highlights how the factors education, board size and ownership structure affect appointment of women to corporate boards.

Research design - This study is quantitative with a longitudinal approach. The sample consists of 72 Large Cap companies listed on NASDAQ OMX. Secondary data is retrieved from the database Retriever and from the companies’ annual reports found on their own websites. The data is investigated and presented in tables, and an analysis is made in line with the literature and chosen theories.

Findings - The findings from this study is that women are underrepresented on Swedish corporate boards, but there has been a positive trend regarding females on boards during the five-year period of the study. Factors of board size, ownership structure and educational level affect appointment of female representatives. The conclusion is that family firms are more likely to appoint females to their boards, and the majority of females appointed to boardroom positions have a higher education, especially in non-family firms. Also it was found that, the larger the size of the board, the greater the number of female representatives.

Contributions – By investigating and describing the development of female representation in corporate boards and highlighting factors that influence appointment of female representatives, the study adds value and understanding to the on-going discussion about gender diversity on Swedish corporate boards and the development of female presence in Swedish boardrooms.