Predictors of Board Gender Diversity: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Abstract

Drawing on macro (country), meso (industry and organizational), and micro (board) level literature related to board gender composition, we provided a systematic review and meta-analysis of factors predicting gender diversity on boards (k = 62 independent samples; N = 632,185 firm-year observations). Results showed that at the macro-level, representation of women on boards is lower in countries that place higher value on masculinity (r = -0.30), have greater power distance (r= -0.15), and higher levels of religiosity (r= -0.30). The presence of women in politics and government rankings was also positively associated with increased board gender diversity (r= 0.47). Positive associations were also found between board gender diversity and meso-level factors which included female work-force participation (r= 0.18), firm size (r= 0.20), board size (r = 0.22) and ownership structure (r = 0.23). At the micro-level, we found positive associations between board gender diversity and the presence of network opportunities and mentoring (r = 0.25), board development practices (r = 0.29), chair of the board being a woman (? = 0.26), and female presence on board nomination committees (r= 0.23). Overall, findings address the previous calls for research investigation (e.g., Hillman, Shropshire, & Cannella, 2007; Terjesen & Singh, 2008) of the endogenous causes of underrepresentation of women on boards.