Ownership Structure and Female Directors on Two-Tier Boards: Evidence from Polish Listed Companies

Abstract

Research question/issue: This study examines how ownership structure affects the presence of female directors on supervisory and management boards and the related advantages of gender diversity in the boardroom. It was conducted in a post-communist country and the argument is that the process of privatization affected corporate ownership structures and also, indirectly, board structures. Research findings/insights: The study uses data on 403 Polish companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. A total of 1,862 observations were made for the period between 2005 and 2010. Having analyzed the panel data, several phenomena were identified: the negative influence of ownership concentration on the number of women on supervisory and management boards, the positive influence of foreign investors ownership on the number of women on supervisory boards, the positive influence of the management board members’ share in the ownership of the company on the number of women on supervisory boards, the positive influence of state ownership on the number of women on supervisory and management boards, the positive influence of institutional investors on the number of women on supervisory and management boards. At the same time, the number of women on supervisory and management boards was low. This indicates that investors appoint women as token directors and companies do not utilize the advantages of board gender diversity. Theoretical/academic implications: This work also confirmed the influence of historical path dependence on the number of women on boards. Therefore, it is difficult to apply the results of studies conducted around the globe to the situation of an individual country. Thus, further research is needed concerning the influence of historical, cultural and institutional factors on the efficiency of various corporate governance mechanisms. Practitioner/policy implications: The study presented in this paper may contribute to the intensification of the discussion on the small number of women on company boards in post-communist Central and Eastern European countries. It is very important for policy makers, whose task is to undertake actions leading to the utilization of gender diversity advantages. The study also shows that despite the numerous benefits connected with the greater role of women on company boards, investors in Polish companies still do not make full use the available intellectual and social capital.