Abstract
AbstractThis paper uses archival board data to demonstrate that women who take positions as directors of UK companies have shorter tenures than their male counterparts. The authors show that female directors face a much higher risk of dismissal as they approach nine years of service on the board, when their long service deprives them of the all‐important classification as ‘independent’. At this point, their position on the board becomes precarious. Male directors do not suffer the same increase in boardroom exit. This gender‐specific difference is clearly shown to be linked to the independence status. It is argued that these observations are consistent with the notion that female directors are being used in the symbolic management of corporate governance and that, at nine years, when the cloak of independence disappears, women directors are then exposed to the biases that arise from role congruity issues.
Highlights
The Sex Discrimination Act became law in the UK in 1975
Using a comprehensive sample of UK company boards over a long period, this paper has identified that women directors last a shorter time on UK boards than male directors do
Our findings point to a markedly different treatment of male vs. female outside directors once they reach nine years of service and lose their independence status. This effect is consistent with the holding of biased stereotypes regarding the role congruity of women in senior leadership positions
Summary
The Sex Discrimination Act became law in the UK in 1975. It was intended to eliminate labour market discrimination on the grounds of sex or marital status. In the year 2000, some 25 years after it came into force, only around 6% of board positions on FTSE 100 companies were held by women. The analysis in this paper will show that the challenge facing women on UK boards is their under-representation, and their subsequent experience once they are appointed to a board. Their position on the board is more precarious than that of their male counterparts
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