Gender Quota Law Research Articles

The nexus of tax avoidance and firms characteristics – does board gender diversity have a role? Evidence from an emerging economy

PurposeThis study examines the moderating role of female directors on the relationship between the firms’ characteristics and tax avoidance in an emerging economy.Design/methodology/approachThis study employs the second-generation unit root test and the generalised method of moments (GMM) techniques. The Kao residual cointegration test corroborates a long-run cointegration among variables.FindingsFemale directors demonstrate mixed and unusual findings. No significant impact of female directors on tax avoidance is found. In addition, the presence of female directors does not show any negative or significant moderating impacts on the relationship between leverage, firm age, board size and tax avoidance. However, having more female directors can negatively and significantly moderate the relationship between more profitable firms, larger firms and tax avoidance. These findings show that the board of directors could use the presence of female directors to maximise their opportunistic behaviour, such as to avoid tax.Research limitations/implicationsResearch limitations – The study is limited by considering only 62 listed firms. The scope could be extended to include non-listed firms.Practical implicationsResearch implications – There is increasing pressure for female directors on boards from diverse stakeholders, such as the European Commission, national governments, politicians, employer lobby groups, shareholders, and Fortune and Financial Times Stock Exchange (FTSE) rankings. This study provides input to decision-makers putting gender quota laws into practice. Our findings can help policy-makers adopt regulatory reforms to control tax avoidance practices and enhance organisational legitimacy. Policymakers can change their policy to include female directors up to the threshold suggested by the critical mass theory.Originality/valueThis is the first attempt in Bangladesh to explore the role of female directors in the relationship between the firms' characteristics and tax avoidance. The current study has significant ramifications for bringing gender diversity into practice as a component of good corporate governance.

The 30% Gender Quota Law in Sierra Leone: A Game Changer for Women’s Access to Parliament?

The 30% Gender Quota Law in Sierra Leone: A Game Changer for Women’s Access to Parliament?

Correction to: Making Gender Salient: From Gender Quota Laws to Policy by Ana Catalano Weeks

Correction to: Making Gender Salient: From Gender Quota Laws to Policy <i>by Ana Catalano Weeks</i>

Correction to: Review of: “Making Gender Salient: From Gender Quota Laws to Policy”

Correction to: Review of: “Making Gender Salient: From Gender Quota Laws to Policy”

Gender quotas, board diversity and spillover effects. Evidence from Italian banks

We study the impact of a law, which required the increase of the proportion of women on boards of listed companies to at least one third. We look at its impact on listed banks, but also test whether it led to spillovers into non-listed banks belonging to listed groups or along board diversity dimensions other than gender. Using administrative data, we compare diversity measures of boards of listed and non-listed banks in listed groups with those in non-listed groups, before and after the introduction of the law, in a difference-in-differences specification. We find that the gender quota law only changed the composition of the boards of listed banks, with no effects on their economic performance, nor relevant spillovers on other non-listed banks in listed groups. The law also enhanced diversity on boards of directors of listed banks along individual characteristics other than gender.

Women directors and E&S performance: Evidence from board gender quotas

Using the natural experiment created by France's 2011 board gender quota law, we find that the presence of women on boards increases firms' environmental and social (E&S) performance. After the quota law, firms are more likely to create an E&S committee, and women directors are increasingly serving as members of the main board committees and as chairs of E&S committees. We find that prior to being recruited to boards, women directors have more environmental and social experience than men. Combined with their increased authority after the introduction of quotas, their E&S skills allow them to steer companies toward more E&S-oriented policies.

Book Review: Making Gender Salient: From Gender Quota Laws to Policy

Book Review: Making Gender Salient: From Gender Quota Laws to Policy

Adopting a gender quota policy in Qatar: a path to gender equity

PurposeSocietal barriers continue to cause gender disparities in women’s share of political authority. As a representative case study for the Arab Gulf region, this paper aims to investigate public opinion on adopting a nationwide quota for women’s participation in top government offices in the Qatar context. It gathers insights on the following question: How does public opinion respond to a proposed new political arrangement of implementing gender quota laws in Qatar?Design/methodology/approachData were collected via a national telephone survey of a representative sample of 660 Qatari nationals chosen by simple random sampling. A regression analysis was performed for the primary outcome: support for a gender quota system that guarantees a specific proportion of places for women in the government and executive positions.FindingsUnsurprisingly, the findings reveal gender variations in support for the three distinct types of egalitarian policy examined (i.e. a quota for women in top government positions; a quota for women in executive positions in public ministries; and equal wages), with women being more supportive than men.Research limitations/implicationsAssessing the public attitudes toward adopting legislative gender quotas is of interest to policy-makers and civil organizations alike that seek to advance women’s political status and democratic representation.Originality/valueThis study is among the very few to empirically examine public opinion on quotas as state-directed initiatives to promote the involvement of women in political power in Qatar.

The female audit committee members expertise and experience: is there a trade-off between accrual-based and real earnings management?

Purpose This paper aims to examine the impact of female AC representation (ACFEMALE) following the adoption of gender quota legislation on the trade-off between accrual-based (AEM) and real earnings management (REM), taking into consideration their demographic attributes. Design/methodology/approach A sample of 89 companies listed in the SBF 120 during the period 2012–2018 has been employed. The authors have obtained the explanatory variables using the principal component analysis method. To provide empirical evidence for the testable hypotheses, the authors have estimated a least squares regression. A differences-in-differences analysis has been estimated to analyze the impact of the gender quota law imposition. Findings The regression results indicate that companies with a higher proportion of ACFEMALE have more tendency to use REM rather than AEM. The authors further denote that the ACFEMALE expertise negatively affects AEM. Moreover, the authors find that the ACFEMALE experience helps reduce both AEM and REM. Results from the DID analysis exhibit that the ACFEMALE effect on the trade-off between REM and AEM occurs for the period that follows the implementation of the French gender quota law. Furthermore, the authors denote that the negative link between the ACFEMALE experience and AEM and REM dissipates for both the pre- and the postgender quota law adoption. Originality/value This study extends the prior existing research by examining, for the first time, the relationship between female directors’ appointments and the trade-off between accrual-based and REM. As well as, the research provides primary evidence on the channels through which female directors may affect the managerial preference regarding the earnings management techniques AEM or REM.

Making Gender Salient: From Gender Quota Laws to Policy. By Ana Catalano Weeks. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2022. 300p. $99.99 cloth.

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Review of: “Making Gender Salient: From Gender Quota Laws to Policy”

In Making Gender Salient, Anna Catalano Weeks examines whether gender quotas lead to policy changes for women. Leveraging data from high-income democracies and four carefully selected case studies, she seamlessly weaves together large-N observational data with in-depth interviews and archival research to show that quotas do lead to policy change–but not necessarily in the ways we may have previously anticipated. Focusing on work-family policies this book breaks new ground and uncovers counterintuitive conclusions about when, how, and by whom women’s policy interests are addressed. Whereas champions of quotas often advocate that quotas will bring about positive policy change for women, skeptics suggest we should not observe policy change because party identity swamps gender identity. To tackle this puzzle, Weeks theorizes the avenues through which quotas influence policy making, leading her to draw insightful, yet counterintuitive conclusions. Essentially, she concludes that quotas result in policy change only on cross-cutting issues where there is a gender gap in preferences.

Board gender quotas and outward foreign direct investment: Evidence from France

AbstractWe show that board gender quota laws reduce the propensity of French firms to undertake outward foreign direct investment. For this, we use firm‐level data for the period 2007 to 2015 and a difference‐in‐difference approach. The exogenous increase in the share of women directors decreases the share of foreign subsidiaries by 7 percentage points when the share of women directors is at its highest. The share of foreign subsidiaries is affected by the decrease in probability of having a foreign subsidiary, which indicates disinvestment. The effects on outward foreign direct investment we detect are strongest for the poorly managed firms, pointing to tough managerial monitoring by gender diverse boards as the driving force behind results.

Board gender diversity and the cost of equity: What difference does gender quota legislation make?

AbstractThis study examines the relationship between women directors and the cost of equity (COE). Investigating the French firm's sample, we find a significant negative effect of women directors on the COE. Our results also document that the effect of women directors on reducing the COE is significant for firms that have a critical mass of at least four women directors. Using the difference‐in‐difference (DID) and propensity score matching (PSM) approach, we find that the relationship between female directors and lower equity costs is significant for the period following the Copé–Zimmermann gender quota law. The results show that women directors' presence on corporate boards is also supported by economic reasons. The study provides implications in relation to the Copé–Zimmermann law in France.

The Effect of Gender Quota Laws on Women Political Participation in Nigeria; a Comparative Analysis

The Effect of Gender Quota Laws on Women Political Participation in Nigeria; a Comparative Analysis

Homophily versus monitoring: Do all female board directors drive the gender assignment of audit partners?

By examining the extent to which the proportion of female board directors affects the gender assignment of engagement partners, this paper contributes to the existing literature in several ways. First, we investigate the French mandatory joint audit setting, giving rise to a set of concerns with regard to the auditor pair composition. Second, we consider female directors according to their positions on the board in order to determine which of the homophily and monitoring arguments plays the greater part in the auditor selection process. Third, we address the moderating effect of the gender quota law on the link between female directorship and the choice of audit engagement partners. Using appropriate estimation methods, we find that female board members appointed to key monitoring positions (female independent directors and female audit committee members) choose gender-diverse engagement partners. However, counter to the gender similarity (homophily) argument, we find that female inside directors are negatively associated with the selection of gender-diverse engagement partners. The association between gender-diverse boards and gender-diverse audit partners is found to be more pronounced in the period following the enactment of the gender quota law, thereby providing some practical and policy implications with regard to capitalising on the benefits of gender diversity. Supplementary analyses support the preponderance of the monitoring argument over the homophily argument in the auditor selection process.

Risk Preferences of Gender‐Diverse Boards: Evidence from CEO Debt‐like Compensation

AbstractWe hypothesize that gender‐diverse boards manage CEO risk‐taking preferences through the debt‐like component of CEO compensation. We provide empirical evidence of a strong positive association between the proportion of independent female directors and debt‐like pension compensation for a sample of US firms. Our key results are robust to a least‐squares framework that includes firm fixed effects to address potential omitted variable bias, and we also find evidence that higher proportions of independent female directors are associated with lower CEO option compensation and more intensive use of restricted stock grants. We obtain corroborating results from a difference‐in‐differences approach using California's 2018 board gender quota law (SB 826) as a quasi‐experiment. Consistently, gender‐diverse boards reduce the cost of debt among firms that are closer to financial distress and for longer maturity bond issues.

Still “the Domain of Men?” Gender Quotas and Women's Inclusion in Local Politics in Italy

Gender quota laws, which require political parties to include women among candidate lists, now exist at the subnational level in 15 European countries. Do they increase the inclusion of women in local legislative processes and facilitate the representation of women's interests? To make progress on these questions, we leverage data from the “most similar” Italian region of Campania, which implemented a quota law in 2010, and Calabria, which had no quota law. Using a mixed‐method approach, we pair quantitative analysis of all legislative bills proposed and passed in both regional councils from 2007 to 2017 with qualitative interviews with regional councillors. We find that Campania's gender quota law increased women's inclusion in the legislative process, but little evidence that this translated into substantive policy gains for women. Our qualitative evidence suggests that arcane legislative processes, male‐dominated leadership roles, and a masculinist culture prevent women's policy interests from being prioritized.

Gender quotas and bank risk

We assess the effects of board gender quota laws using a sample of banks from 39 countries. We document an increase in both stand-alone and systemic risk post-quota among banks that did not meet the quota pre-reform; the effect is stronger for banks in countries with a smaller pool of women in finance and low gender equality. We find that the propagation of poor governance practices by overlapping female directors and deterioration in the information environment post quota are likely channels driving the results. The evidence is consistent with some banks “gaming” the reform by strategically appointing insiders, which weakens the board's monitoring function. Our results have policy implications and suggest that supply-side factors are key determinants of the outcome of mandated quotas.

Gender-Balanced Seats, Equal Power and Greater Gender Equality? Zooming into the Boardroom of Companies Bound by the Portuguese Gender Quota Law

This paper seeks to analyse the potential for change in the gender quota law on corporate boards in Portugal. This is achieved by incorporating concepts and insights drawn from political science and the study of quotas in politics and adjusting these to the boardroom context. It adds to the literature on women on boards by shedding light on the importance of looking at descriptive representation, substantive representation, substantive equality and transformative institutional change, in order to understand a quota law’s potential for eliciting gender balance in the boardroom, as well as greater gender equality in directorship positions, in board dynamics and at the workplace level. This study uses multi-strategy research methods. Evidence provided by the quantitative analysis of survey data, combined with the qualitative analysis of interviews undertaken with female and male board members and the contents of Gender Equality Action Plans (GEAPs), shows that there have been some changes in terms of descriptive representation, but fewer in relation to substantive equality, as men are still largely over-represented in positions associated with effective power and influence over decision-making. Moreover, although the promotion of gender equality at the workplace is valued by both groups, and particularly so by women, weaknesses have been found in the materialisation of such a commitment (substantive representation) through the adoption of GEAPs designed to tackle gendered patterns at the workplace (transformative institutional change).

On the same page? Differences between male and female board members on the benefits of a gender-balanced representation

PurposeThis study aims to analyze the interplay between male and female board members’ beliefs about women’s competence to fill board positions (valence), the perceived benefits of a greater gender-balanced boardroom (value) and the significance attributed to the gender quota law as a relevant instrument in eliciting change in board composition.Design/methodology/approachLooking through the lens of expectancy-value theory, the authors investigate whether the perceived benefits of a gender quota law mediate the path between the beliefs about women’s competence to become board members and the perceived benefits of a greater gender-balanced representation in the boardroom. In addition, the authors investigate whether female and male board members share the same beliefs about a gender-balanced representation.FindingsThe results show that there are differences in beliefs about women’s competencies to become board members and the perceived benefits of a greater gender-balanced boardroom. Female board members hold stronger beliefs on the competence of women to fill board positions and, thus, assign greater importance to the gender quota law, which, in turn, impacts the greater significance attributed to equal representation of women in the boardroom.Practical implicationsThe findings shed new light on the debate concerning gender quotas aimed at promoting gender-balanced boardrooms by pointing out that differences in value expectations between male and female board members may prevent intraboard gender-equal dynamics.Originality/valueThe study contributes to the literature by adding new insights on how male and female board members perceive the value of legally bound gender quotas, in association with their beliefs about women’s competence to fill board positions (valence) and their expectations in terms of the beneficial outcomes of a more gender-balanced board composition.