WOMEN IN A DUAL BOARD SYSTEM AND DIVIDEND POLICY

Abstract

We investigate whether firms with the presence of female on its board of commissioners and board of directors are associated with higher dividend policy. This paper uses Indonesian setting as a country with a dual board system implying that the role of board of commissioners and board of directors is explicitly separated. Using panel data on 525 publicly listed firms in Indonesia between 2011 and 2018, we find that the women's presence has different impacts on the dividend policy depending on their role as an executive or non-executive on the board. Female directors are negatively associated with cash dividend payments, while female commissioners positively impact dividend payment in the case of family-controlled firms only. Our results contribute to the literature on board gender diversity by showing different roles and behavior of boards in each tier in the corporate dividend policy, thus providing insights on corporate governance in a two-tiered board system in developing countries.