Board Gender Diversity, Performance, and Power of Women Directors as Predictors of Strategic Change

Purpose This paper aims to examine the relationship between board gender diversity and private firm performance. Design/methodology/approach The authors test the association between board gender diversity and private firm performance by estimating pooled multivariate regressions using an unbalanced panel data set of 115,253 firm-year observations. Findings The authors find that younger, less busy and local women directors enhance private firm performance. Firms with 40% or more women directors report triple the economic benefits compared to boards with at least 20% women directors. Considering firm size, women directors significantly increase small firm profitability, and the effect is more pronounced for high-risk firms. Greater board gender diversity enhances small firm performance as the monitoring role of women directors benefits the firm even in the presence of busy men directors. Consistent with the agency theory framework, the authors find that women directors improve small firm profitability in the presence of agency costs. Research limitations/implications Due to the lack of availability of data about private firms, many factors are not directly observable. The analysis uses accounting-based performance measures that may be subject to managerial discretion. Nevertheless, the authors report highly significant results using cash-based performance measures that substantiate the overall findings. Practical implications The results of the present study point to the need for private firms to increase board gender diversity and consider women director busyness, age, nationality and firm size when making board director appointments. Originality/value This study adds to the scarce existent literature investigating private firms. The results contribute to the understanding of gender-diverse boards as well as the attributes of women directors that enhance private firm performance.

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Do women on corporate boardrooms influence remuneration patterns and socially responsible practices? Malaysian evidence

Equality Diversity and Inclusion An International Journal ◽

10.1108/edi-07-2020-0213 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

Sitara Karim

Keyword(s):

Generalized Method Of Moments ◽

Gender Diversity ◽

Executive Directors ◽

Women Directors ◽

Socially Responsible ◽

Content Type ◽

Upper Echelons Theory ◽

Board Gender Diversity ◽

The Relationship ◽

Practical Implications

PurposeThe prime objective of this study is to investigate the moderating influence of executive and independent female directors on the relationship between remuneration packages (CEO and executive director) and socially responsible practices (marketplace, environment, community, workplace and money spent on CSR) of 483 Malaysian listed firms during 2006–2017.Design/methodology/approachThe dynamic estimator, namely, system generalized method of moments (GMM) given by Blundell and Bond (1998) has been employed on the dataset to control dynamic endogeneity, unobserved heterogeneity and simultaneity problems.FindingsFindings indicate that there is a significant relationship between remuneration patterns of CEOs and executive directors and socially responsible activities. In the same way, executive board gender diversity significantly, whereas independent board gender diversity insignificantly moderates the remuneration and CSR nexus.Practical implicationsThis study is particularly significant for regulatory bodies of Malaysia, e.g. Securities Commission Malaysia, Bursa Malaysia, policy makers, investors and managers. For academia, this study fetches support from agency theory, stakeholder theory and upper echelons theory and presents integrated theoretical approach to be considered for future research.Originality/valueThis paper is unique in providing empirical evidence on the moderating effect of both executive and independent women directors on the relationship between remuneration patterns of CEOs and executive directors and independent CSR activities for the first time. Moreover, this study has sourced several theoretical and practical implications. And, the study employs dynamic estimator for precise and concrete results.

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Gender Diversity as the Antidote to ‘Groupthink’ on Corporate Boards

Deakin Law Review ◽

10.21153/dlr2017vol22no1art723 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 22 (1) ◽

pp. 85

Author(s):

Akshaya Kamalnath

Keyword(s):

Gender Diversity ◽

Board Members ◽

Corporate Boards ◽

Women Directors ◽

Professional Background ◽

Decision Making Processes ◽

Board Gender Diversity ◽

Board Decision Making ◽

Significant Question

Gender diversity on corporate boards has become a point of emphasis, to the exclusion of all other forms of diversity. This paper analyses whether board gender diversity might help boards overcome groupthink (i.e. the failure of board members to consider alternatives to the dominant view when making decisions). This is a significant question because the board is reponsible for governance of the company and groupthink is often cited as a hurdle to effectively performing this role. Thus, the paper first examines the role of the board, board decision-making processes and the problem of groupthink, and subsequently, the potential of gender diversity to overcome groupthink. It concludes that gender diversity on corporate boards might help overcome groupthink so long as the women directors are also independent and bear ‘outsider’ status. However, other forms of diversity like race, education, tenure, professional background etcetera might offer the same benefits and thus should not be overlooked.

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Does Gender Diversity Affect the Environmental Performance of Banks?

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su122310172 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (23) ◽

pp. 10172

Author(s):

Clara Gallego-Sosa ◽

Yakira Fernández-Torres ◽

Milagros Gutiérrez-Fernández

Keyword(s):

Environmental Performance ◽

Fixed Effects ◽

Banking Sector ◽

Gender Diversity ◽

Active Role ◽

Women Directors ◽

Relevant Variables ◽

Board Gender Diversity ◽

The Relationship ◽

Selection Of

Climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing humanity today. Therefore, all segments of society must act together to stop the deterioration of the planet and the depletion of its resources. The business sector must play an active role in acting responsibly toward the environment. Given the importance of this issue, major efforts have been made to analyze the environmental performance of the most polluting sectors. In contrast, other sectors that are also of great interest due to their contribution to sustainable development, such as the banking sector, have been overlooked. Notable factors conditioning performance include aspects of corporate governance such as gender diversity. However, the empirical evidence reveals a lack of consensus regarding the influence of women directors on corporate environmental performance. This background motivates the study of the commitment of the banking sector to reducing their environmental impact and the analysis the influence of board gender diversity on environmental performance. Data for the period 2009 to 2018 on 52 banks from the most polluting Western regions were studied using descriptive statistics and fixed effects econometric estimation to test the relationship between a selection of relevant variables. The key conclusions are that banks are committed to protecting the environment and that there are no significant differences between banks’ commitment to the planet on the basis of board gender diversity.

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What drives the impact of women directors on firm performance? Evidence from intellectual capital efficiency of US listed firms

Journal of Intellectual Capital ◽

10.1108/jic-09-2019-0222 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 21 (4) ◽

pp. 513-530 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Faisal Shahzad ◽

Mushahid Hussain Baig ◽

Ijaz Ur Rehman ◽

Fawad Latif ◽

Bruno S. Sergi

Keyword(s):

Intellectual Capital ◽

Gender Diversity ◽

Performance Measure ◽

Women Directors ◽

Firm Level ◽

Content Type ◽

Capital Efficiency ◽

Board Gender Diversity ◽

The Impact ◽

The Relationship

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study whether the presence of women directors on the corporate board influences financial performance (FP). To examine the underlying causal mechanism, the authors modeled firm-level intellectual capital efficiency (ICE) in the relationshipbetween board gender diversity (BGD) and FP. Design/methodology/approach Using a sample of 5,879 US firms, a structural model of BGD, IC and FP is conceptualized by accounting for the endogeneity issues and alternative measures of the key variables in the empirical framework. In the model, the percentage of women directors is taken as BGD measures and value-added intellectual coefficient as an IC performance measure, considering governance and corporate performance measures. Findings The authors find a significant impact of BGD on FP. In particular, the results suggest: BGD is linked to IC; the influence of board gender diversity on the FP is indirect; and ICE fully mediates the relationship between BGD and FP. Originality/value To the best of the author’s knowledge, no study has empirically investigated whether the firm-level IC performance explains the influence of BGD on FP. Drawing on the resource-based view and organizational learning theory of the firm, the authors empirically modeled the relationship between BGD and FP through a mediation mechanism of firm-level ICE to fill the void in the literature.

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Board gender diversity and dividend policy: Case of Jordanian commercial banks

Corporate Board role duties and composition ◽

10.22495/cbv13i3art4 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 13 (3) ◽

pp. 33-41 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Asma’a Al-Amarneh ◽

Hadeel Yaseen ◽

Majd Iskandrani

Keyword(s):

Commercial Banks ◽

Dividend Policy ◽

Stock Exchange ◽

Gender Diversity ◽

Women Directors ◽

International Financial Crisis ◽

The Government ◽

Board Gender Diversity ◽

The Impact ◽

The Relationship

This paper aims to investigate the impact of board gender diversity on dividend policy in the context of Jordanian commercial banks. Using a sample of 13 Jordanian commercial banks listed on Amman Stock Exchange during the period 2005-2014, we find strong and robust evidence indicating that diversified boards tend to pay higher cash dividends to shareholders since women can better address the needs of investors in impatient emerging markets. Moreover, this paper presents the negative moderating effect of both, the government existence in the boardroom and international financial crisis on the relationship between gender diversity and dividend policy indicators. Under such conditions, the diversified boards became more conservative and retained most of the profit and paid fewer dividends because of the risk-averse tendencies of women directors.

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Is Board Gender Diversity a Driver of CEO Compensation? : Examining the Leadership Style of Institutional Women Directors

Asian Women ◽

10.14431/aw.2017.12.33.4.55 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 33 (4) ◽

pp. 55-80

Author(s):

María Consuelo Pucheta-Martíne ◽

Inmaculada Bel-Oms ◽

Gustau Olcina-Sempere

Keyword(s):

Leadership Style ◽

Ceo Compensation ◽

Gender Diversity ◽

Women Directors ◽

Board Gender Diversity

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

Journal of ASIAN Behavioural Studies ◽

10.21834/jabs.v5i16.350 ◽

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

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