scholarly journals Antecedents of Female Representation on Corporate Boards: An Exploratory Analysis at Board Level from a Socialized Perspective

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 ◽  
pp. 52
Author(s):  
Rey Dang ◽  
L’Hocine Houanti ◽  
Frédéric Teulon ◽  
Linh-Chi Vo
Keyword(s):  
Exploratory Analysis ◽  
Corporate Boards ◽  
Female Representation ◽  
Board Level

Board gender diversity and firms' social engagement in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Jizi ◽  
Rabih Nehme ◽  
Cynthia Melhem
Keyword(s):  
Social Engagement ◽  
Generalized Least Squares ◽  
Governance Structure ◽  
Gulf Cooperation Council ◽  
Foreign Direct Investments ◽  
Corporate Boards ◽  
Female Representation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Gcc Countries ◽  
Thomson Reuters

PurposeThe Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries form a unique socioeconomic environment that makes the conclusions of the prior literature not likely to be applicable. GCC countries have huge oil reserves, yet they are aiming at reducing oil dependency through enhancing transparency, increasing foreign direct investments and reforming their governance structure. Their firms are mainly family owned and have low female representation in leadership positions. The study seeks to fill a literature gap by providing a business case supporting the call for gender diverse boards for better governance.Design/methodology/approachThe study examines a sample of GCC-listed firms for the years 2009–2018. Three measures are used to proxy for firm social engagement, namely, CSR strategy score, environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosure score and social pillar score. To ensure whether the presence of women on board or the number of women on board is influential on social engagements, the authors use the existence of women on board and the percentage of women on board variables. Data are collected using Thomson Reuters, and generalized least squares (GLS) panel data regression is used to estimate relationships.FindingsThe authors find that female representation on GCC corporate boards is increasing, yet in a slow path. The reported results support the role of women on boards in prompting firms' social agenda and enhancing the level of sustainability reporting. The results also show that female board representation supports the implementation of climate change policy, business ethics policy and health and safety policy.Originality/valueThe paper evidence the add value of women participation on GCC corporate boards in enhancing boards' functionality and governance. The empirical findings encourage firms and policymakers in the GCC countries to increase the share of females on corporate boards to improve firms' citizenship and facilitate attracting foreign investors.

Gendering Corporate Boards and Conditional Effectiveness of Board Processes: Insights from a Sub-Saharan African Country

2021 ◽  
pp. 097215092110362
Author(s):  
Obi Berko O. Damoah ◽  
Yvonne Ayerki Lamptey ◽  
Alex Anlesinya ◽  
Barbara Naa Amanuah Tetteh
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Governance ◽  
African Country ◽  
Board Members ◽  
Corporate Boards ◽  
Corporate Board ◽  
Board Processes ◽  
Board Directors ◽  
Women On Corporate Boards ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Board Level

This study explored how and when female board members make effective contribution to board processes in a sub-Saharan African country (Ghana), a context characterized by low female representation on corporate boards, but highly under-researched with respect to the gender and corporate governance literature. The study is based on interview data from 25 female board directors in Ghana. The results show that women on corporate boards contribute to effective board processes and outcomes when their proposed ideas during board meetings are accepted by other board members, implemented by management and impact positively on organizational outcomes such as enhanced financial, product and staff outcomes. These effective contributions of female board directors to corporate board processes can further be enhanced by suitable female directors’ personal-level conditions such as their human capital (advanced degree and professional qualification, and past board membership experience) and family support (supportive husbands, and having grown up children), as well as board-level conditions like occupying chairperson/leadership position on the board or committees, and regular attendance at board meetings. Consequently, this research study contributed to the gender and corporate governance literature by providing new evidence from under-researched geographical context on how women on corporate boards contribute to effective board processes. It further highlights personal and board-level conditions that are necessary for greater contributions of female directors to corporate board processes and outcomes in male-dominated societies and boards.

scholarly journals Women on corporate boards. The case of ’gender quotas’ in Italy

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 132-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrizia Pastore ◽  
Silvia Tommaso
Keyword(s):  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Gender Quotas ◽  
Corporate Boards ◽  
Female Representation ◽  
Upper Management ◽  
Gender Diverse ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Market Women ◽  
Substantial Progress

This paper investigates whether gender quotas have had success so far in their primary goal of reducing gender disparities in Italian corporate boards. Debate about gender equality on boards gained momentum and global prominence over the last years attracting attention of both researchers and practitioners worldwide. Despite a remarkable progress in education and their participation in the labor market, women still face large barriers to advance into upper management and boardrooms and gaps remain. Women are still under-represented in senior executive and board positions worldwide even if there is wide variation across countries. The present is a qualitative study that aims to contribute to the ongoing international debate about gender diversity on corporate boards (or lack thereof), providing current evidence from Italy, four years after the entry into force of Law 120/2011, establishing legislated quotas in order to ensure gender-balanced corporate boards. Using the samples of Italian listed companies and government-controlled companies tracked by Consob and Cerved respectively, findings show a substantial progress of female representation in Italian corporate boards (including governing and auditing boards) over the period 2008-2015 and reflect the extent to which women are shattering the glass ceiling, right before and after the implementation of the new (although controversial) gender quotas regulation. However, even though the number of women who sit on corporate boards has increased, it is necessary to ensure that the appointment of women is a board’s genuine intention to become gender diverse and more effectiveness rather than evidence of a result driven by tokenism, designed to enhance corporate reputation and image.

Female directors on corporate boards and their impact on corporate social responsibility (CSR): evidence from China

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Waqas Bin Khidmat ◽  
Muhammad Danish Habib ◽  
Sadia Awan ◽  
Kashif Raza
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Governance ◽  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
State Ownership ◽  
Corporate Boards ◽  
Female Representation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Listed Firms ◽  
Self Selection ◽  
Corporate Social

Purpose This study aims to examine the determinants of the female representations on Chinese listed firm’s boards. This study also investigates the effect of gender diversity on corporate social responsibility activities. Design/methodology/approach The Tobit regression model is used because the data is censored and using ordinary least square regression can give spurious results. For robust check, the authors also used Heckman’s (1979) two-stage self-selection model to remove the sample self-selection bias. Findings The authors find that the female representations on the corporate board are positively associated with firm age, firm performance, corporate governance, family ownership, institutional ownership and managerial ownership while negatively related to firm size and state ownership. This study also incorporates predictors of the critical mass of women on the Chinese listed firm’s board. The study also tests the female-led hypothesis and concludes that the female representation increases in firms with female chief executive officer (CEO) or female chairpersons. The Chinese listed firms with gender-diverse board are socially responsible. Research limitations/implications The importance of diversity in corporate boards has been demonstrated in light of the agency theory and the resource dependence framework. The results contribute to the previous literature by documenting the determinants of female representations on board, robust by alternative measures of gender diversity, firm size, corporate governance and estimation techniques. Practical implications The economic significance of gender diversity stirred the firms to increase female representation. The policymakers can understand the reasons for female underrepresentation in Chinese boards and can reform the regulation to enhance governance quality, non-state ownership and risk aversion among the listed firms. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature by providing empirical evidence on the key predictor of the world’s largest emerging economy, specifically the study focuses on the firm specific determinants, different governance attributes, ownership structure and firm risk measures. This study also seeks to answer if the presence of a female in the Chairperson or CEO position encourages the firms to hire more female directors or not?

Gender Differences in Executive Compensation on British Corporate Boards: the Role of Conditional Conservatism

2020 ◽  
Vol 55 (01) ◽  
pp. 2050002 ◽  
Author(s):  
Habiba Al-Shaer ◽  
Mostafa Harakeh
Keyword(s):  
Executive Compensation ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Potential Effect ◽  
Corporate Boards ◽  
Female Representation ◽  
Equity Compensation ◽  
Conditional Conservatism ◽  
Women On Boards ◽  
Reported Earnings ◽  
Executive Level

We exploit the effectiveness of the [ Davies Report ( 2011 ). Women on Boards. London: Department for Business, Innovation & Skills], which urged FTSE 350 companies to increase female representation on corporate boards, to examine the potential effect that this may have on the gender pay differential at the executive level. To this end, we employ a multivariate regression and a difference-in-differences approach that compare executive compensation between all-male executive boards and boards with at least one female executive. Using a sample of FTSE 350 companies that spans the period 2008–2015, we find that differential executive compensation exists in bonus and equity compensation following the Davies Report ( 2011 ). Given that the differential compensation exists in the components primarily determined by the firm’s reported earnings and that female directors are prone to exhibit higher conditional conservatism in their financial reporting, we examine whether the firm’s financial reporting practice plays a role in determining the differential executive compensation. Our investigation reveals that the presence of female executive directors on the board makes the effect of conditional conservatism more prominent, resulting in lower bonus and equity-based compensation.

scholarly journals Do countries with different cultural, social and religious backgrounds behave the same way concerning women’s representation on corporate boards?

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 253-264
Author(s):  
Gonca Gungor Goksu ◽  
Maria Luisa Esteban Salvador
Keyword(s):  
Boards Of Directors ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Corporate Boards ◽  
Female Representation ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Women's Participation ◽  
Values And Beliefs ◽  
Using Data ◽  
New Evidence

This study focuses on female representation on corporate boards in Turkey and Spain, two countries in which clear differences exist in social, cultural and religious contexts. Using data from the most influential companies in the two states, we have investigated the presence of women in the boardrooms in 2014. We present new evidence on the comparison of outcomes of women’s participation on boards. Results show differences in the involvement of women on the boards of major companies in Turkey and Spain. Statistical analysis suggests that the presence of women on the most powerful boards of directors of Spanish companies is higher than that of Turkish companies, and there are statistically significant differences between the two countries. This article offers insights to policy makers interested in analysing whether differences, values and beliefs between countries could influence the role of women in the decision-making process of the upper echelons of business. Keywords: Turkey, Spain, board of directors, female directors, corporate governance.  

Independent board, gender diversity and bank performance in Nigeria: a system-GMM approach

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chinwe Okoyeuzu ◽  
Augustine Ujunwa ◽  
Angela Ifeanyi Ujunwa ◽  
Emmanuel Onyebuchi Onah
Keyword(s):  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Bank Performance ◽  
Board Independence ◽  
Annual Data ◽  
Corporate Boards ◽  
Female Representation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Board Gender Diversity ◽  
Negative Predictor

Purpose This study aims to examine the effects of board independence and gender diversity on bank performance in Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach The two-step system-generalized method moment was used to estimate the effect of board independence and gender diversity on bank performance in Nigeria using annual data of 15 deposit money banks from 2006 to 2018. Findings The results revealed that gender diversity is a significant positive predictor of bank performance, whereas board independence is a negative predictor of bank performance in Nigeria. Practical implications Despite the significant positive relationship between gender diversity and bank performance, this paper does not recommend mandatory quota-based initiates of female representation on corporate boards because of the increasing number of female representations on corporate boards of banks in Nigeria. Originality/value The study contributes to corporate governance literature from developing country perspective and policy, particularly, on the relevance or otherwise of market-based measures in assessing bank performance in developing counties. This paper finds that market-based variables are not good measures of firm performance in economies with underdeveloped markets.

Boards Need Women with IT

2011 ◽  
pp. 70-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonja Bernhardt
Keyword(s):  
Equal Opportunity ◽  
Stock Exchange ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Female Representation ◽  
Women On Boards ◽  
Board Directors ◽  
Gender Profile ◽  
Executive Managers ◽  
Board Level ◽  
It Skills

In comparison to research on gender diversity on boards, little research has been conducted on the diversity of board skills required for survival in our fast dynamic world, where boards are becoming more responsible for IT strategy, and where skills to optimize technology strategy and execution for maximum business value are in demand. In this article, the importance of IT knowledge to overall board governance and the value of women with IT skills as board members are explored. A gender profile is developed from the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX), the Equal Opportunity for Women Agency (EOWA) and the Women on Boards 2004 reports. A discussion on relative contributions to board performance is undertaken. Under the banner of diversity, research into board composition historically has focused on gender issues—where more specifically the lack of women appointed at board levels has been discussed. There is a significant volume of research that verifies the lack of female representation on boards. One example from the EOWA 2004 Census shows that for the top 200 companies listed on the ASX on June 30, 2004, the number of women executive managers in Australia’s companies has increased since 2003 by 1.8% to 10.2%, while the number of women board directors has increased since 2003 by only 0.2% to 8.6%. Additionally, 42.0% of companies have no women executive managers and 62.1% of women (but only 31.4% of men) occupy support positions—as opposed to the line positions that ultimately lead to CEO or Board appointments. This article draws links between IT skills, governance, and women with IT skills at the board level.

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