"Gender diversity, time to take it from the top? An integration of competing theories"

Abstract

Organizational strategies to achieve gender diversity have focussed on bottom-up approaches such as mentoring or leadership training. However, women’s representation at senior organizational levels remains well below men’s. This study investigates the trickle-down effect where an increase in female representation at a senior organizational level is expected to result in an increase in female representation at a lower level of management. Competing theories from the psychology and management literatures, that support or oppose the prediction of a trickle-down effect, are presented. Integrating these theories, we hypothesize a curvilinear relationship between female representation at two levels. Data for 1,387 organizations listed on the Australian Securities Exchange were collected for the period 2003-2012. Female representation at a senior organizational level (board) had a positive impact on subsequent female representation at a lower level of management (executive). A curvilinear relationship was found, with a weaker effect at low levels of female board representation, but only in organizations with no female executives. The trickle-down effect was strongest after one year, but still significant after five years. This evidence for the trickle-down effect suggests that organizations should consider multiple appointments of women to senior roles as a top-down strategy for increasing organizational gender diversity.