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By Lucy Clarke-Billings
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Draft legislation designed to boost gender equality in boardrooms has been rejected by Sweden's parliament.
The minority center-left government, ruled by the Social Democrats party, confirmed Thursday that it was dropping a planned bill which would fine listed companies if they had less than 40 percent female representation among board members.
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Details of the gender-quota proposal were first announced in September. But the center-right opposition parties and the nationalist Sweden Democrats—which together hold the majority in parliament—said Thursday they would vote against the bill.
"I regret it," Sweden's Economy Minister Mikael Damberg told news agency TT The Guardian reported. "We're advancing very slowly toward gender equality in the boardroom."
In 2016, women made up 32 percent of Swedish company boards, Reuters reported.
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