Does Female Representation on Boards of Directors Associate with Increased Transparency and Ethical Behavior?

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis study examined the association between corporate transparency and ethical orientation of Fortune 500 companies and the number of females represented on the board of directors from the Fortune (2010) annual report data. Our basis for this judgment was whether the firm was listed on either (both) Ethisphere Magazine's “2010 World's Most Ethical Companies” (Ethisphere Magazine 2011) or (and) Corporate Responsibility Magazine's “100 Best Corporate Citizens 2010” (Corporate Responsibility Magazine 2011) list(s). Our results indicated that, as the number of women directors increased, the probability of a corporation appearing on these lists increased. We also found that a “critical mass” of women directors was indicated by the data for Ethisphere Magazine's but not Corporate Responsibility Magazine's list.