Board diversity and corporate payout policy: Do free cash flow and ownership concentration matter?

Abstract

This study investigates the effect of board diversity in terms of gender and ethnicity on dividend payout policy when a firm has free cash flow agency problem. It also tests whether the probability of diverse boards would minimize free cash flow agency problem through making large dividend payments is more pronounced in firms with high ownership concentration. We find that our results differ based on how corporate dividend policy is measured, and vary by the level of free cash flows and ownership concentration. More specifically, we find that women’s (Malays’) presence on boards has positive impact on dividend yield (dividend payout), and this effect conditional on the level of free cash flows generated by firms. Our results also show that the role of female and Malay directors in forcing controlling shareholders of firms with substantial free cash flows to cash out the firms’ resources through making higher dividend payments is more prominent when the firms’ ownership structure is concentrated in the hand of largest shareholders. The findings of our study, to some extent, support the government calls for increasing the number of women participation on corporate boardrooms and the participation of Malays in corporate sector.