We provide the first cross-national comparative study of citizens’ support for affirmative action policies for leadership positions in business using the example of gender quotas for company board positions. In contrast to previous studies, we focus on the contextual level and analyse how factors related to political institutions and actors, and economic and social structure, shape citizens’ support and the gap in support between men and women. We apply multilevel regression analyses of the 2011 Eurobarometer data for 27 European countries. Levels of support, and gender gaps in support for boardroom quotas vary largely between countries. Contextual factors related to gender equality in social and economic life, and societal support for state intervention are the most important determinants of cross-national variation. Citizens’ endorsement of the quota is low in countries with high levels of gender equality in social and economic life, while support is higher in countries where interventionist policies are widely accepted.
