In order to accelerate the path towards gender equality in the labour market, Law 120/2011, also referred to as the ‘Golfo-Mosca’ law—from the names of the two female deputies who sponsored it, Lella Golfo and Alessia Mosca—was introduced in Italy. The law, which introduces the obligation to balance gender representation in the governance and control bodies of listed companies, subsidiaries and state-owned shareholdings, was preceded by social movements which helped to promote its legislative process. In addition to the measurable effects that the law has generated, indirect and non-materialised effects are herein presented and discussed. The diversification imposed by the law could in fact have potentially generated a different effect, bringing new conceptions of business, new models of corporate governance and new values to the attention of the board, triggering a domino effect on the entire organisation. Since diversity-oriented policies, practices and managerial styles are still not widespread in Italy, we conclude that a law was indeed necessary to break an established mechanism that has excluded women from boardrooms for years, but that it is also necessary to go beyond the law by acting on the organisational culture, to ensure that the measurable diversification of boards will stimulate companies’ awareness of environmental and social sustainability issues.