Gender diversity in management and corporate financial performance: A systematic literature review

Abstract

AbstractWith many studies on the participation of women in management positions, a systematic review of gender diversity and its impact on the financial performance of companies over the last 20 years is in demand. To this end, we conducted a literature review of 370 articles, 359 of which were empirical studies published in the most relevant journals of Finance and Business Administration. As a result of the analysis, the characteristics of the research, the main authors, the journals, the theories used, and the relationships between variables were identified. The results show that most research points to evidence of a positive relationship between female participation and financial performance under different aspects (e.g., return, risk, cost of capital, fraud, etc.). This study contributes to the academic debate on the relationship between gender diversity and firm performance. In addition to this review, we outline a theoretical framework and present future research agendas.