Beyond the glass ceiling: Informal gender-based status hierarchy and corporate misconduct

Abstract

We use status characteristics theory to hypothesize that status beliefs lead to the formation of an informal gender-based status hierarchy on corporate boards. After controlling for several characteristics of directors, we discover that the status ranking of female directors is remarkably 19.58% of one position lower than that of male directors on boards. We investigate how female director status ranking affects board decisions, particularly corporate ethical behaviors. We specifically argue that female director status ranking is negatively associated with corporate misconduct, such that the likelihood of misconduct is lower when female gender status is positively viewed on boards. Furthermore, we argue that the effect of informal female director status ranking is contingent on three factors: the presence of a female board chair, good governance mechanisms, and Confucian culture. Using a large firm–year (18,266) and director–year (285,229) sample of Chinese firms during 2008–2019, we find support for our theoretical predictions.