scholarly journals Assessing the Effect of Board Gender Diversity on CSR Reporting Through Moderating Role of Political Connections in Chinese Listed Firms

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Riffat Shaheen ◽  
Hailan Yang ◽  
Muhammad Yaseen Bhutto ◽  
Hussaini Bala ◽  
Fahad Najeeb Khan
Keyword(s):  
Boards Of Directors ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Political Connections ◽  
Institutional Setting ◽  
Corporate Boards ◽  
Listed Firms ◽  
Csr Reporting ◽  
Female Directors ◽  
Board Gender Diversity

This study departs from existing work on board gender diversity (BGD) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting by analyzing and explaining the mechanism by which gender-diverse boards in politically embedded firms (PEFs) affect firms’ CSR reporting choices in a unique institutional setting of Chinese listed firms from 2010 to 2018. The following main results are obtained. First, having female directors and executives with political connections (PCs) on corporate boards improves the CSR reporting of firms. Firms with PCs have a greater possibility to issue CSR reports than their non-connected counterparts. Second, firms that have both gender diversity and PCs on their boards of directors are more likely to engage in CSR reporting. There is an indication that the presence of PCs on boards can strengthen the effect of female directors on firms’ CSR reporting. Third, the presence of female directors on corporate boards has a stronger relationship with CSR reporting in PEFs than in non-PEFs. The study concludes that both BGD and PCs on corporate boards positively influence the diffusion of CSR-related practices in the Chinese business environment.

scholarly journals Does gender diversity on the board reduce agency cost? Evidence from Pakistan

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Amin ◽  
Ramiz Ur Rehman ◽  
Rizwan Ali ◽  
Collins G. Ntim
Keyword(s):  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Agency Cost ◽  
Agency Conflicts ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Listed Firms ◽  
Financial Firms ◽  
Female Directors ◽  
Board Gender Diversity ◽  
The Impact

Purpose This study aims to examine the effects of board gender diversity on agency costs in non-financial firms listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX). Design/methodology/approach Multiple regression analysis is used to determine the impact of board gender diversity on agency cost. The research used panel data consisting of 2,062 firm-year observations of 226 non-financial firms listed on the PSX from 2008 to 2019 to test the proposed hypothesis. In addition, the Blau and the Shannon indices were used to checking for robustness. Findings The results indicate that female presence on the board significantly reduces the agency cost and, hence, mitigates the principal-agent conflict. Moreover, consistent with the critical mass theory, it was found that boards with three or more female directors have a stronger impact on reducing the agency cost, as compared to two or fewer female directors on the board. Research limitations/implications The sample was restricted to non-financial firms listed on the PSX only; therefore, the results reflect the attributes of Pakistan’s business environment. A similar analysis in the context of other countries may generate different results. Practical implications The findings imply that female directors play an important role in reducing agency conflicts between shareholders and managers by enhancing monitoring through effective governance mechanisms. The policymakers, therefore, should focus on female career development and encourage professional training programmes to generate a fair, competitive environment for senior female management. Originality/value This study attempts to fill the literature gap in that no similar study covers the non-financial firms’ listed firms in Pakistan. The paper supports the reforms made by the code of corporate governance by making the placement of female directors mandatory on Pakistani corporate boards. Overall, support is provided for the view that regulators should favour gender quotas regarding the composition of the board management team of listed firms to reduce agency conflicts and gain shareholder confidence.

Do Female Directors on Corporate Boards Make a Difference in Family Owned Businesses?

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Sveva Magnanelli ◽  
Luigi Nasta ◽  
Elisa Raoli
Keyword(s):  
Firm Performance ◽  
Family Firms ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Family Businesses ◽  
Corporate Boards ◽  
Listed Firms ◽  
Female Directors ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Gender Quota

ABSTRACT This paper investigates how the presence of female directors on corporate boards impacts the performance of family firms. This study enriches the literature on gender diversity on corporate boards and its effects on firm performance by focusing on a country in which family businesses are dominant. The empirical analysis is conducted on a sample of 165 Italian-listed firms from 2011 to 2016, representing the period during which the mandatory gender quota law was introduced and implemented in Italy. The results show a positive relationship between the presence of women on corporate boards and firm performance, specifically in family owned businesses. These findings lead to the conclusion that female directors do not have a negative impact on firm performance. And, given the domination of family businesses and a mandatory gender quota law in Italy, this study makes a regulatory and performance assessment not previously examined in the literature. JEL Classifications: M1; M12; M48; M21.

Female directors and agency costs: evidence from Chinese listed firms

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Qurat Ul Ain ◽  
Xianghui Yuan ◽  
Hafiz Mustansar Javaid ◽  
Muhammad Usman ◽  
Muhammad Haris
Keyword(s):  
Agency Costs ◽  
Conflicts Of Interest ◽  
Critical Mass ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Ordinary Least Squares ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Listed Firms ◽  
Female Directors ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Board Gender Diversity

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to examine whether board gender diversity reduces the agency costs of firms in the context of Chinese listed firms.Design/methodology/approachThis paper uses a large sample of 23,340 firm-year observations of Chinese listed companies during 2004–2017. The authors use ordinary least squares regressions as the primary methodology with a wide range of methods to control for endogeneity and to check robustness, including the fixed-effect method, instrumental variable approach, lagged gender diversity measures, propensity score matching, Blau index, Shannon index and industry-adjusted measures of agency costs.FindingsThe evidence reveals that the participation of female directors in corporate board reduces agency costs, which correlates with conflicts of interest. Moreover, gender-diverse boards are more effective in state-owned enterprises (SOEs), in which agency issues are more severe. Female directors also provide better monitoring roles in more-developed areas. Finally, corporate boards that have a critical mass of female directors have a greater tendency to reduce agency costs as compared to their token participation. Overall, all findings support the validity of agency theory.Practical implicationsThis study shows the economic benefit of female directors in the boardroom by reducing agency costs and by improving firms' governance structure. Regarding the government, which is gradually introducing board gender diversity policies, this study provides valuable pragmatic information for Chinese regulators on this issue.Originality/valueThis study extends the literature by providing evidence that gender diversity in boardroom matters for shareholders' wealth maximization. It provides novel evidence that a critical mass of female directors is more effective in reducing agency costs compared to a single female on the board, and that the effect of gender diversity varies in relation to ownership structure and region.

scholarly journals Does Board Gender Diversity Affects Dividend Payout? Evidence from a review of literature

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (16) ◽  
pp. 19-34
Author(s):  
Emma Anuar ◽  
Rozainun Abdul Aziz ◽  
Maslinawati Mohamad ◽  
Rugayah Hashim
Keyword(s):  
Gender Discrimination ◽  
Boards Of Directors ◽  
Publishing House ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Board Composition ◽  
Corporate Boards ◽  
Women Directors ◽  
Dividend Payout ◽  
Board Gender Diversity ◽  
The Impact

The objective of this paper is to review the literature on how board gender diversity impacts dividend payout among public listed companies in Malaysia. Traditionally, higher-level management positions are held by men. Leadership and decision making are predominantly male, while the minority are women directors. When corporate boards show diversity, there is a significant presence of women or the addition of women to the board. In the past, present, and indeed the future, board gender diversity is the issue that is a growing trend and is getting more attention. The shareholders and investors are putting pressure on the boards of directors’ to show increased performance. The findings from this paper will provide evidence on whether board gender diversity influences the dividend payout. Board composition without gender discrimination is the new normal for corporations to thrive after the global lockdowns from Covid-19. Other relevant matters on the impact of board gender diversity will also be discussed.Keywords: board gender diversity; board characteristics; board composition; board traits; female directors; dividend payout; MalaysiaeISSN: 2514-7528 © 2020 The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open-access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/jabs.v5i16.350

scholarly journals The association between board gender diversity and financial reporting quality, corporate performance and corporate social responsibility disclosure

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 177-194 ◽  
Author(s):  
María Consuelo Pucheta-Martínez ◽  
Inmaculada Bel-Oms ◽  
Gustau Olcina-Sempere
Keyword(s):  
Firm Performance ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Reporting Quality ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Csr Reporting ◽  
Female Directors ◽  
Csr Disclosure ◽  
Board Gender Diversity ◽  
Corporate Social

Purpose Companies, politicians, the mass media, legislators, scholars and society in general have shown a growing interest in how board gender diversity affects a firm’s decisions. This concept has been developed because some nations have introduced voluntary policies to regulate and increase the proportion of female directors on corporate boards. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to review previous research based on board gender diversity as a corporate governance mechanism and its effect on some firms’ business decisions: financial reporting quality (FRQ), firm performance and corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting. Design/methodology/approach The authors focus on the agency and stakeholder theory to examine the link between female directors on boards and FRQ, CSR disclosure and firm performance. Findings This review provides researchers a structure that can identify the benefits and disadvantages of including female directors on boards regarding three particular corporate outcomes (FRQ, firm performance and CSR reporting). Originality/value This study provides a review of past literature on firm performance, CSR disclosure and FRQ from 1975 to 2017, and it contributes to past research by giving a broad overview of the main results of the association between female board directors and corporate decisions. The findings have implications for governments, academics and company managers.

scholarly journals Gender-diverse boards get better performance on mergers and acquisitions

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (4, Special Issue) ◽  
pp. 222-233 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nivo Ravaonorohanta
Keyword(s):  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Corporate Boards ◽  
Representation Of Women ◽  
Female Directors ◽  
Gender Diverse ◽  
Women On Boards ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Board Gender Diversity ◽  
Executive Teams

In recent years, the composition of boards, particularly the appointment of female directors to the boardroom has attracted significant political and social debate. Despite several studies that have examined links between the representation of women on boards and the corporate performance, research on the board gender diversity in merger contexts is limited. We assess whether the presence of women on corporate boards affects merger and acquisition (M&A) performance. Using acquisition bids by public Canadian companies during 2012-2017, we find that an increasing number of female directors in acquiring companies is associated with an enhanced merger performance and a reduced bid premium. After controlling for gender diversity on executive teams, the value added by having women on boards is particularly noticeable when acquiring firms have few women in the executive teams, and where overconfidence is prevalent. Thus, there is a substitutive relation between gender diversity on the board and gender diversity on the executive team.

scholarly journals Social Sustainability on Corporate Boards: The Effects of Female Family Members on R&D

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 1982
Author(s):  
Ana Beatriz Hernández-Lara ◽  
Juan Pablo Gonzales-Bustos ◽  
Amado Alarcón-Alarcón
Keyword(s):  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Positive Influence ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Panel Regression ◽  
Corporate Boards ◽  
Regression Analyses ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Female Directors ◽  
Open Debate ◽  
Board Gender Diversity

There is growing institutional and social pressure for greater balance, parity, and equality at the highest levels of corporations. This is coupled with an increasing interest in analysing the effects of gender diversity on corporate boards. However, companies may only reap the benefits of gender diversity by achieving better qualified and more independent boards. This study aims to contribute to the open debate on the effects of board gender diversity on R&D, by taking into account the independence of female directors. Panel regression analyses were performed with data for 67 Spanish-listed companies during the 2003–2019 period. Our results confirm the positive effects of gender diversity on R&D. However, this positive influence is lower if female directors have family links with male members on the board. These findings have policy implications, regarding the need to increase gender equality in corporate boards for social and sustainability purposes, while the benefits are conditioned by the independence of female directors. The value of this research rests on the study of the effects, beyond the mere analysis of financial performance of the gender diversity of boards.

scholarly journals Does Board Gender Diversity Bring Better Financial and Governance Performances? An Empirical Investigation of Cases in Taiwan

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 3205 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu-Hui Wang
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Governance ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Critical Factor ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Theoretical Argument ◽  
Corporate Boards ◽  
Research Attention ◽  
Female Directors ◽  
Board Gender Diversity ◽  
The Impact

Gender diversity, one of the core streams of top management team (TMT) diversity research, poses a theoretical argument valuable for firms—whether gender diversity among board members can lead to improved performance. Increased research attention on the relationship between gender diversity and the financial and governance performance of firms has produced inconclusive results. This study shapes the gender diversity of corporate boards by defining six compounding elements, which is the major contributor to the literature of gender diversity. This study aims to provide a more complete and precise assessment of the impact of gender diversity on a firm’s performance and corporate governance performance from the Taiwanese experience. The evidence in Taiwan suggests that increased board gender diversity does not have a positive effect on financial and governance performance. Only the ratio of female independent directors is found to have a significantly positive association with a firm’s performance, supporting prior findings that directors with greater independence are better able to perform their monitoring function and thus contribute to performance. The results also demonstrate that female directors having concurrent posts is a critical factor in enhancing corporate governance performance. Female directors with prior experience as serving directors or supervisors in other companies can offer diverse opinions and network ties, thus contributing to improved cohesion and corporate governance. The findings of this research can contribute to both literature and practice in board gender diversity issues and can serve as an empirical basis for enterprises in optimizing their board composition.

scholarly journals Board Gender Diversity and Dividend Policy in Chinese Listed Firms

SAGE Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 215824402199780
Author(s):  
Qurat Ul Ain ◽  
Xianghui Yuan ◽  
Hafiz Mustansar Javaid ◽  
Jinkai Zhao ◽  
Li Xiang
Keyword(s):  
Critical Mass ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Executive Directors ◽  
Government Ownership ◽  
Listed Firms ◽  
Female Directors ◽  
Dividend Payments ◽  
Board Gender Diversity ◽  
Mass Participation ◽  
The Relationship

This study investigates the relationship between gender diversity on the board and dividend payouts in China using a large sample over the period 2003–2017. Our results provide robust and strong evidence showing that gender diversity on the board is positively associated with cash payments of dividends. The empirical outcomes confirm that gender diversity on the board facilitates corporate governance and subsequently promotes dividend payouts. We demonstrate that gender diversity on the board has the greatest effect when the board has critical mass participation (three or more female directors) compared with only their token participation. However, independent female directors increase dividend payouts, while female executive directors do not have a significant impact. Furthermore, we extend the literature on the relationship between dividend payments and government ownership by providing evidence that gender diversity has a higher impact on dividend payouts for state-owned enterprises than non-state-owned enterprises. After controlling the endogeneity problems, our findings are reliable and robust. JEL classifications: G30, G35

Boards of directors in Russian publicly traded companies: the gender aspect

2018 ◽  
pp. 142-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. A. Garanina ◽  
A. A. Muravyev
Keyword(s):  
Boards Of Directors ◽  
Company Performance ◽  
Corporate Boards ◽  
Publicly Traded ◽  
Publicly Traded Companies ◽  
Representation Of Women ◽  
Female Directors ◽  
Female Director ◽  
Gender Aspect ◽  
Longitudinal Dataset

This article studies the gender composition of corporate boards of Russian companies, including its relation to company performance. The analysis is based on a unique longitudinal dataset of virtually all Russian companies whose shares were traded on the stock market in 1998-2014. It shows a relatively small representation of women, just 12% of all the seats, while about 40% of the companies did not have any female director. At the same time, both the share of companies that appoint female directors and the share of female directors on boards show a clear upward trend. The econometric analysis suggests a positive link between the presence of female directors on boards and company performance, especially when firms appoint several, rather than one, female directors.

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