Board gender diversity and CSR in Lebanese banks: Rhetoric or action?

Abstract

This paper studies the lack of gender diversity at the board level in Lebanese banks following Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) principles. It also addresses women’s reactions and behaviours towards this issue. The employed methodology is multi-modal and uses both quantitative and qualitative tools. The data was collected via survey and semi-structured interviews from 42 managers in 21 banks, which according to their websites, follow the CSR principles. The quantitative data revealed the relevant trends, while the qualitative data provided comprehensive explanations and in-depth understanding of the related issues. The findings of this paper shed light on the personal disappointment women interviewees felt about their lack of progress as well as their inability to assume a place on the board. They also address the contribution of the four main causes of board-level gender discrimination in Lebanese banks, namely the limitations imposed by the patriarchal culture, CEO succession planning, Human Resource (HR) diversity management practices, as well as those due to women themselves. They found that women react to these challenges by relying on their emotional intelligence. However, they tend to overestimate themselves for self-protection in the male dominated financial world. This study is not without its limitations, but it recommends further research concerning related policies and strategies of the administrative boards, legislating entities, and controlling entities, such as the Central Bank of Lebanon (Banque du Liban, BDL), in order to explicitly explore strategies that affect gender discrimination. This study creates value for banks that are genuinely interested in implementing CSR in order to benefit their corporate governance (CG) practices as well as the society at large.