Gender Composition Of Boards Research Articles

BOARD DIVERSITY AND GENDER COMPOSITION ON CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND FIRM REPUTATION IN INDONESIA

The purpose of this study was to find out the impact of board diversity and gender composition on CSR performance and firm reputation. This study also revealed the role of CSR performance as a mediator in the impact of board diversity, gender composition, and firm reputation. Samples were chosen from companies awarded Indonesia’s Best Wealth Creator Award for year 2010–2012 by SWA Magazine, Indonesia, using purposive sampling. This study showed that CSR performance and gender composition had positive impact on firm reputation but did not significantly impact board diversity .

Women on Boards: Do They Affect Sustainability Reporting?

ABSTRACTSustainable reports are the basic tool used to reflect and communicate stakeholder dialogue. Therefore, sustainability reporting has become a key element for strategic management. Companies' strategies are defined and developed by their boards of directors. This study explores the relationship between sustainability reporting and the existence of at least three women on the board of directors. Our results show that in countries with a higher proportion of boards of directors with at least three women, the levels of CSR reporting are higher. We also find that countries with higher gender equality have more companies with boards of directors with at least three women. We control for other variables that affect differences among countries and differences in CSR reporting as found in previous studies: cultural differences, law enforcement, GDP, industry and regulation. Our paper contributes to the literature by studying the relationship between board gender composition and CSR reporting. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

Gender diversity in the boards of directors of Brazilian businesses

PurposeThis study aims to analyse the gender composition of the 99 most liquid Brazilian companies listed in the Brazilian stock exchange (BM&FBovespa) in 2011. It proposes a discussion about gender inequality in Brazilian companies and provides data, made available for the first time to national and international literature, on gender composition in Brazilian boards.Design/methodology/approachThis is a quantitative study, whose data were collected from the Annual Report of Corporate Governance of Listed Companies 2011 prepared by the Capital Aberto magazine on the makeup of the boards of the 100 most liquid Brazilian publicly traded companies. Descriptive multivariate regression tests were carried out to refine these findings.FindingsThe results show that only 5.4 per cent of the positions in the boards of these companies are occupied by women. Firms that have been listed for longer in the stock market and have more seats in their boards are more likely to have women directors in these boards, suggesting gender inequality in the 99 companies surveyed.Research limitations/implicationsThis study has a limitation with regards to the type of female board members in the sample. In other words, the authors were unable to determine if they were external or internal to the companies.Practical implicationsThe study discusses gender inequality in Brazilian companies and contributes to the debate on a governmental proposal to adopt quota legislation to increase the number of women in boards of directors.Originality/valueThis study fulfils an identified need to know more about the gender composition of Brazilian boards.

Women directors on boards of Australian Real Estate Investment Trusts

PurposeThis is the first paper which aims to investigate factors that might influence the gender composition of boards of directors of Australian Real Estate Investment Trusts (A‐REITs).Design/methodology/approachThis study follows Mateos de Cabo, Gimeno and Nieto and the gender diversity literature and investigates the existence and number of women directors on the boards of directors of 37 A‐REITs from 2006 to 2011.FindingsThere is evidence that larger (by market capitalization) A‐REITs are more likely to employ a woman director and that A‐REITs with larger boards are more likely to employ a woman director and indeed more women directors. It also appears that A‐REITs whose head office is in Sydney are more likely to employ a woman director and also more women directors.Practical implicationsWomen seeking to be engaged as directors of A‐REITs are more likely to be employed by larger A‐REITs (by market capitalization), those with larger boards and those located in Sydney.Originality/valueThis paper adds to the existing literature on gender diversity by examining the factors that appear to influence the employment of women on A‐REIT Boards.

Steady as She Goes: Female Board Representation and Corporate Mergers and Acquisitions Activity

This study contributes to the current discussion on board gender diversity by providing a comprehensive examination of the impact of female board representation on firm-level strategic behavior. Focusing on the domain of mergers and acquisitions (M&A), we build theory based on psychological, social, and cognitive mechanisms to predict that firms with female directors will be associated with more cautious, less aggressive M&A behavior. In particular, we hypothesize and find evidence that firms with female board representation tend to engage in acquisitions that are fewer in number, smaller in size, cash- (vs. equity-)funded, and more diversified. Contrary to our prediction, we find that female board representation is associated with higher bid premiums (i.e., increased overpayment). In supplementary analyses, we find no significant positive or negative impact of female-represented boards on short-term market reaction to acquisitions (cumulative abnormal returns) or long-term firm performance. We demonstrate the robustness of our findings through the use of a difference-in-difference analysis of a sub-sample of firms that experienced exogenous changes in board gender composition as a result of director deaths.

The pre‐ and post‐IPOs gender composition of board of directors in Malaysia

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the gender composition of the board of directors of Malaysian initial public offering (IPO) companies. This study also examines the business case for having women on boards.Design/methodology/approachUsing a sample of 228 IPO companies that went public during the period 1999‐2006, this study tracks the changes in the gender composition of these companies prior to the IPO year, IPO year and three‐year post‐IPOs. This study also tracks the changes in the gender composition between the pre‐IPO period and some 5 to 12 years later after the IPOs for a subsample of 89 companies that appear as top 500‐companies on the Malaysian Stock Exchange (Bursa Malaysia) in 2011. The compounded buy‐and‐hold returns method is used to measure the post‐IPO company performance.FindingsThis study finds that female representation as board of directors in 228 Malaysian companies prior to the IPO is only about 8 percent. This percentage is almost similar for the subsequent four years (IPO year and three‐year post‐IPOs). By using a subsample of 89 companies that appear as top 500‐companies in 2011, the percentage of female directors increases only 2.5 percent from the pre‐IPO year. However, the increment is not statistically significant. An extended analysis on the business case for women on boards reveals that greater percentage of female representation leads to lower long run underperformance. This underperformance is much lower for companies having more foreign ethnic female representation.Research limitations/implicationsThe results of this study suggest that there is still a long way to realize the benefits of having female directors in Malaysian companies. Malaysia needs to create an environment that realizes the benefits of having women in the top management levels.Originality/valueThis research contributes to the existing literature on gender especially in the context of IPO companies. This is the first comprehensive study on gender composition using Malaysian IPOs data. Prior studies on gender mainly focus on established listed companies.

CEO succession, gender and risk taking

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine, within a succession framework, the impact of the gender composition of boards of directors on the gender of the CEOs they appoint, and to assess the impact of newly appointed CEOs' gender on risk taking by the firm.Design/methodology/approachThe authors estimate a two‐stage least squares regression using data on 679 CEO successions in North American firms.FindingsThe results show that successor CEOs are more likely to be female the greater the percentage of females on the board, regardless of other succession characteristics such as whether the new CEO is from inside or outside the firm. Furthermore, a change in CEO from male to female is associated with a decrease in several measures of firm risk taking.Research limitations/implicationsThe sample is restricted to relatively large, exchange‐traded North American firms and may not generalize to other groups.Practical implicationsThe findings suggest that women aspiring to CEO positions and firms wishing to promote women should monitor board composition to ensure female representation. Other steps that the firm may take to promote women to this position (such as looking outside the firm) have an insignificant impact when board composition is taken into account.Originality/valueThe findings are novel and inform CEO succession research by demonstrating which succession process characteristics work to increase females' chances and which have no effect. Female CEOs are likely to provide leadership that reduces the risk profile of the firm.

Gender differences in executive compensation: Variation with board gender composition and time

This paper uses EXECUCOMP, COMPUSTAT and Investor's Responsibility Resource Center data to examine gender differences in executive salaries and total compensation from 1996 to 2004. We find that the salaries of female executives are about 5 percent lower than those of male executives, controlling for executive, firm, and board characteristics, and that the gap exists primarily in the lower officer ranks, where women are relatively highly concentrated. The gender difference in salary is larger in firms with more male-dominated boards; perhaps not coincidentally, such firms are also found to have fewer female executives in top managerial positions as well as lower probabilities of having any top female executives at all. The results of Oaxaca wage decompositions suggest that, although the magnitude of the gender difference decreases slightly over the sample period, the share of the gender difference that is due to unobserved factors remains basically steady or even increases. Thus, although women have become better represented in top executive jobs in recent decades, their relative salaries remain below those of men, possibly due in part to governance structures that remain male-dominated.

Gender influence on firm‐level entrepreneurship through the power structure of boards

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to examine the gender composition and structure of the board of directors in not‐for‐profit organisations and their relation to firm‐level entrepreneurship.Design/methodology/approachData were collected through a survey sent to Swedish riding schools. The paper focuses on not‐for‐profit associations and the analysis is based on 60 respondents. The data were analysed by multivariate methods.FindingsThe overall gender composition of boards had no influence on firm‐level entrepreneurship. However, a high proportion of women in powerful positions were found to have a positive influence on one of the study's two dimensions of firm‐level entrepreneurship, i.e. strategic opportunism. No influence concerning gender in powerful positions was found on risk taking, the other dimension of firm‐level entrepreneurship.Originality/valueThe attention to gender composition not only focuses on the board at large, but also highlights the specific positions of the chairperson, secretary and treasurer in the board structure. Another valuable insight concerns firm‐level entrepreneurship, here treated as a two‐dimensional concept, consisting of strategic opportunism and risk taking, which finds support in the analysis. Further, the empirical data were collected from an industry that includes a high proportion of women on the boards, i.e. the Swedish riding school industry. The study contributes to the debate concerning the gender composition on the board of directors where a high proportion of women in powerful positions is positively related with strategic opportunism.

Gender and the Composition of Corporate Boards

This article examines the gender composition of corporate boards of listed companies in Ghana. Results indicate that women were insignificantly represented and that younger firms had more women on their boards than firms established four decades ago. In addition, the study found that it is only after the initial listing that companies found it necessary to appoint women directors. As firms expand, they tend to employ fewer women on their corporate boards. Also, women were engaged more in the service and financial sectors than the manufacturing and construction industries. Interest-ingly, local companies appointed relatively more women as board members than their multinational counterparts.

The gender composition of boards after an IPO

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to empirically analyse the change in the gender composition of the boards of large Australian companies, after listing.Design/methodology/approachThis study investigates the gender composition of the boards of large Australian companies at the time of the initial public offering (IPO) and subsequently as these companies mature into established public companies. It also investigates industry influences and organizational size influences on the board composition at the time of the IPO and subsequently.FindingsNo significant change is found in the proportion of male and female directors holding directorships at the time of the IPO and some five to eight years later when the company is recorded as a top 500 company (by market capitalization) on the Australian lists. This implies that the capital market is generally satisfied by the gender composition of boards from the time of the IPO.Originality/valueThis paper follows extends on previous work which provides evidence of a relatively low proportion of female directors on the boards of Australian initial public offerings.

Impact of gender and ethnic composition of South African boards of directors on intellectual capital performance

This study examines the association between the gender and ethnic composition of boards of directors and firm performance in a transitional nation. In contrast to prior research that largely focuses on firm performance within a financial context, this study concentrates on intellectual capital performance. Using data collected from 84 South African, empirical results indicate a positive association between the percentage of female and non-white directors on the board and a firm’s intellectual capital performance. Additional analysis shows the designation of female directors as an insider has a negative effect of intellectual capital performance. Designation of female and non-white directors as outsiders, meanwhile, has a positive influence on a firm’s intellectual capital performance. Finally, there was no association between the percentage of non-white inside directors on the board and intellectual capital performance.

The Gender Composition of Boards of Property Trust IPOs in Australia from 1994 to 2004

This study investigates the gender composition of the boards of directors of Australian property trust IPOs from 1994 to 2004. Like mining and industrial company IPOs, we find that property trust IPOs in Australia generally do not require female directors for the initial equity capital raising. We also find that larger IPOs during 1994 to 1999 tended to engage more women directors but that this relation was not significant in property trust IPOs from 2000 to 2004.

Examining gender on corporate boards: a regional study

The representation of women in organizations has become an increasingly important topic for academics and practitioners. Despite the growing presence of women in the workforce, representation of women in corporate governance is relatively low. The present study examined the gender composition of corporate boards as a function of organization size and industry. Data from government filings were collected for the top 100 public companies in a suburban region of the USA. Results indicated a positive relationship between organization size and women on boards. Partial support was found for hypotheses related to industry. Practical implications and areas for future study are discussed.

Toward a Homosocial Theory of Sex Roles: An Explanation of the Sex Segregation of Social Institutions

Occupational segregation of women is a major reflection of the generalized segregation that characterizes all aspects of Western social life. It is the visible sign of a massive institutional substructure on which we are most likely to founder unless we are able to find a way around it. Two of the papers in this section deal with macrosociological segregation patterns that link different institutional sectors of society: Safilios-Rothschild addresses the question of sex segregation in the articulation between the institutions of the family and the occupational world; Gates explicates the ways in which the legal institutions buttress the segregation of the domestic and occupational domains. The Laws paper, operating on a different level of analysis, looks at different theoretical approaches to women's segregated involvement in the labor force.