The study analyzes whether having won a working mother award increases the share of female board members in a company. Recently, mandated gender quotas for boards of publicly-traded firms are discussed all over Europe. One of the consequences of mandated gender quotas is a demand increase for female board members. Theoretically, a female friendly culture might serve as an instrument for an increase of women on boards. Having won a working mother award can show a female friendly culture in an organization and therefore increases the percentage of female board members in the subsequent years. Empirically, this hypothesis is supported by using a sample of 199 listed companies in different European countries (Germany, Italy, Sweden, and the United Kingdom) from 2002–2016.