Why and when female directors are less engaged in their board duties: An interface perspective

Michelle K Weck,Dennis B Veltrop,Jana Oehmichen,Floor Rink

doi:10.1016/j.lrp.2021.102123

Michelle K Weck, Dennis B Veltrop + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lrp.2021.102123

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Abstract

Female representation on boards is perhaps one of the most studied topics in board-governance research. At the same time, much is unknown about female directors' task engagement within boards. Drawing from psychological theory on societal gender beliefs, our study tests whether the impact of director gender on supervisory task engagement hinges on status dynamics in two relational interfaces: the director–board interface and the director–CEO interface. According to this perspective, female directors show less task engagement because gender is a diffuse status cue that creates status differentiation within the director–board interface. Multi-source board survey data (n = 61 boards, n = 315 directors) confirms that, within the confines of the boardroom, female directors do, indeed, receive lower-status ratings than male directors. This effect is weaker when boards have a female chair. Furthermore, lower status explains perceived lower task engagement of female directors, but this link critically hinges on the CEO–director interface. The impact of status differences is more pronounced when directors intersect with a relatively dominant CEO. All in all, the results demonstrate that relational interfaces play a key role for female directors’ task engagement in their board duties.

Highlights

Business leaders, as well as policymakers, have long argued for increasing the representation of female directors on boards (Knippen et al, 2019; Kolev and McNamara, 2020)
We illustrate how the task engagement of female directors can be improved by structurally enhancing their status within the director–board interface and by enabling them to develop a positive interface with their Covariates Age (Director) Age (CEO). These findings provide important insights on the workings of fundamental psychological gender dynamics within two interfaces that are rudimentary to boards, which clarifies why female directors may not always function optimally in their role
Our first set of findings (H1, H2, and H3a/b) strongly supports the notion that female directors are ascribed lower status within the board, and that, as a result of this, female directors exhibit lower task engagement. These findings are very much in line with director gender operating as a diffuse status cue in the upper echelon, in which women are implicitly viewed as less competent

Summary

Introduction

As well as policymakers, have long argued for increasing the representation of female directors on boards (Knippen et al, 2019; Kolev and McNamara, 2020). An important reason behind the push for more women on boards is that gender diversity is expected to generate a broader range of task views and work experiences among directors (Fernando et al, 2020; Kirsch, 2018; Kolev and McNamara, 2020). Received 12 February 2020; Received in revised form 10 April 2021; Accepted 30 May 2021.

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