Abstract
The 2011 Egyptian revolution was associated with significant political and social upheaval, followed by societal changes and attempts by policymakers to reduce the marginalisation of women and promote their inclusion in the economy. Drawing on this background, the authors compare the effect of board gender diversity before and after the revolution. Results indicate that gender diversity in corporate boards is coupled with improvements in firm performance in the immediate post revolution phase. This evidence provides insights into the contextual factors related to diversity and performance relationship and supporting arguments for regulatory changes to further encourage women’s representation on boards.
Highlights
In recent years, a number of countries have enacted hard or soft laws to increase the representation of women on corporate boards
This study focuses the inquiry on the Egyptian Arab Spring revolution of 2011, as this setting facilitates investigation of the effect of board gender diversity from a unique angle
The positive association between the presence of foreign board members and firm performance follows results reported by Guney et al (2020) in East African frontier markets
Summary
A number of countries have enacted hard or soft laws to increase the representation of women on corporate boards Regulatory interventions of this type aim to address societal and labour concerns in addition to deficiencies in board oversight due to entrenchment. The objective of this study is to highlight the advantages of board gender diversity from an economic point of view This is achieved by assessing the presence of female directors on Egyptian corporate boards around the 2011 revolution, and the changes in the impact of this presence on financial performance alongside with the changes in the social and economic context that have affected the perceptions around the value of women’s contributions. Examining whether the presence of females in corporate boards may impact firm performance especially during times of uncertainty and economic instability
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