Does Audit Committee Gender Diversity Matter in Corporate Performance of Deposit Money Banks in Nigeria?

Abstract

This paper examines the effect of Audit committee gender diversity on corporate performance of Deposit money banks in Nigeria. Corporate performance in this study has been restricted to the returns accruing to investors in these banks with respect to Return on Asset, Return on Equity, and Economic value added. Most extant literature focus on gender diversity of board of directors generally, as such, creating a gap on contributions of female representation on audit committee. Eleven years annual reports and financial statements of the listed deposit money banks in Nigeria were collected and analysed using descriptive statistics. A two – step – system generalized method of moments (GMM) estimator and diagnostic tests were applied in the study. The results of the study reveal positive and non-significant effect of audit committee gender diversity on corporate performance of deposit money banks in Nigeria. The paper noted that non representation or insignificant representation of females on audit committee has affected the findings of this study. This paper also reveals the level of audit committee gender diversity as a proxy of corporate governance for an internal mechanism of governance in an emerging economy. However, the paper recommends; 1. That there be a gender – balance in the audit committee for us to have a meaningful effect of women representation on corporate performance of deposit money banks. 2. To bridge this gender gap, women should be encouraged to increase their shareholdings in the banks especially in emerging economies. 3. An increase in business and financial expertise of women on board of directors.