Women Directors Research Articles

From Corporate Board to Balance Sheet: Board Characteristics and Financial Performance of Commercial Banks in Nepal

This study aims to examine the impact of board characteristics on the financial performance of commercial banks in Nepal. The study utilized census sampling of all commercial banks having shares listed and actively traded in the secondary market, NEPSE. Descriptive and inferential tools were employed including multiple linear regression models to analyze the impact of board characteristics on financial performance based on the longitudinal data of 21 commercial banks collected from the secondary sources over the period of ten years from 2013 to 2022. The study shows that strictly followed mandatory requirements regarding board size, board independence, and board committees after the enforcement of BAFIA in 2017 along with a relatively small representation of women and independent directors in the boardroom during the study period. The findings show a statistically significant negative impact of board diversity and board committees along with an insignificant impact of board size and board independence on ROA and ROE. The findings of the study also indicate that a higher proportion of women directors and a large number of board committees in the board have contributed negatively to the financial performance of commercial banks in Nepal. However, the comprehensive outcome of this research challenges the agency theory and points towards the presence of tokenism in the inclusion of women and independent directors. The results of the descriptive analysis assimilate to the agency and stakeholder theory respectively by ROE and ROA. The findings of this study have practical implications for banking regulators, legislators, and banks in policy formulation relating to board characteristics.

Breaking the glass ceiling: unveiling the talent management gap in boardrooms and its impact on low women representation

Extensive research has been dedicated to the study of women on boards, revealing a gradual improvement in the actual representation of women as directors on firm boards. This paper presents a comprehensive critical theory framework that combines talent management with corporate governance, human resources, and gender theories to elucidate the underrepresentation of women on corporate boards. This conceptual study, conducted through theoretical literature analysis, identifies a knowledge gap in the limited attention given to studies on the talent of women serving on boards. The purpose of this essay was to explain the sluggish progress of female directors on boards globally, despite the implementation of different laws and the evident business rationale for enhancing women's presence on boards. This study incorporates divergent and unanimous critical analyses of women on boards research, which either facilitates or impedes the advancement of women to executive positions. The primary discoveries of this study enhance the existing information by pinpointing several obstacles that contribute to the underrepresentation of women on corporate boards. These problems stem from structural factors inside organizations, individual psychological factors, and societal preconceptions. These theoretical perspectives identify obstacles and biases in the process of recruiting, developing, and retaining women directors. The implementation of a suitable talent management solution can address these issues.

Influence of Board Directors, Independent Commissioners, Audit Committee on CSR

This research aims to determine how the size of the board of directors, educational background of directors, representation of female directors, proportion of independent commissioners, and audit committees affect CSR. The population in this research is General Banking companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange. The sample used is a general banking company registered on the IDX that publishes annual and sustainability reports. Forty-two conventional general banking company sectors were sampled in the research for the 2018-2022 period. The method used is the panel regression method. This research hypothesis test shows that there is an influence on the educational background of directors. This is because, with more diversity in the educational background of directors, there will be more diversity in supervision, insight, perception, and different skills and expertise on each board of directors, which will complement each other. The variable proportion of independent commissioners also positively affects CSR disclosure. This supports the theory of stakeholders because the decisions taken by the company will be more objective and able to protect all stakeholders. Meanwhile, the variables number of board of directors, representation of women directors, and number of audit committees do not influence CSR. Keywords: Size of Board of Directors, Educational Background of Directors, Representation of Female Directors, Proportion of Independent Commissioners, Size Audit Committee, and CSR

Institutional isomorphic pressures: the impact for women on boards

Purpose This study aims to analyze the connection between institutional isomorphic pressures and both women serving on boards and women’s influence on boards within large American firms. Design/methodology/approach This study examines a longitudinal panel data set of all Standard and Poor’s (S&P) 500 organizations across a seven-year period from 2009 to 2015. Findings The analyses affirm that institutional isomorphic pressures impact the prevalence and influence of women on boards. Evidence suggests that coercive and normative pressures strongly impact the number of women serving as corporate directors, whereas the power of women directors is linked only to mimetic pressures. Practical implications The research suggests that to increase the number of women serving as directors, the industry must first increase the overall number of women serving in senior management roles. Once women directors gain a critical mass of three women on the board, the association with the total number of women directors, the number of boards upon which they concurrently serve, the power of women directors being selected to board leadership and the influence of women directors increase. Originality/value This paper extends existing board diversity work by examining institutional pressures at the international, national and firm levels. By examining the relationship between coercive, normative and mimetic pressures on both the prevalence of women on boards and the influence of women on boards, the authors illuminate certain mechanisms that shape the likelihood of board appointment and placement in more powerful positions.

The nexus between female directors and corporate cash holdings: Evidence from Indonesia

In the last decade, gender diversity on boards or women in the boardroom has gained the attention of academics and practitioners. This paper aims to explore how women directors affect corporate cash holdings in Indonesia. This study utilizes data on Kompas 100 index firms for 2014–2021. A fixed-effect estimator is used to analyze data. The study reveals that female directors positively influence cash holdings. This finding remains robust when employing an alternative proxy for female directors and excluding observations during the COVID-19 period. Additionally, the findings indicate notable variations in cash holdings between companies with and without female directors. Regarding control variables, a firm’s cash holdings are negatively influenced by board size, leverage, company size, and net working capital. Firm profitability and growth opportunities positively influence cash holdings. This paper also documents that institutional ownership weakens the nexus between female directors and cash holding. The findings highlight that female directors hold higher amounts of cash because of their increased risk aversion. This study enriches the discussion on female directors and cash-holding levels in a developing country with a two-tiered board system. AcknowledgmentsThis study is not funded by any funding agency.

The Effect of Political Connection and Women Directors on Company Value with Financial Performance as a Mediating Variable

This research aims to examine the effect of political connections and women directors on company value with financial performance as a mediating variable. The sampling technique used in this study was purposive sampling. The analysis technique used in this study was multiple linear regression analysis. The results of this study showed that political connections and women directors have a positive effect on financial performance. However, the result showed that political connections and women directors have no effect on company value. Then, the result also showed that financial performance has a positive effect on company value. The results of the mediation test using the Sobel test showed that financial performance is able to mediate the relationship between political connections and company value, while financial performance does not mediate women directors and company value.

Supply and demand for gender diversity in corporate leadership – the critical mass: evidence from Greece

PurposeThis study aims to examine whether a change in the regulatory requirement toward gender quota for corporate leadership significantly affects the demand and therefore, it increases the presence of women directors and women CEOs. Examining the supply-side, the study also examines whether the supply for women directors and women CEOs based on the presence of qualified women who currently hold upper, middle, or lower management positions is positively related with the presence of women directors and women CEOs. Furthermore, based on the critical mass hypothesis, this study examines whether the presence of women CEOs and critical mass for women directors bring significant impacts on firms' financial and environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) performance during the subsequent period.Design/methodology/approachUsing the multivariate regression analysis, this study empirically examines the impact of the shift in the demand for women directors and CEOs from the enactment of the Greek Law 4403/2016 on gender quota for corporate leadership. This study also examines the impact of the supply for women in corporate leadership, measured by the percentage of women who hold upper, middle, or lower management positions, on the presence of women directors and CEOs. Then, this study examines the impact of women directors and women CEOs on firms' subsequent financial and ESG performance.FindingsBased on a sample of 71 publicly listed Greek firms and 20 Cyprus listed firms as a control group during 2006–2019, the study finds evidence that both the supply-side and the demand-side bring positive effects on greater women participation in corporate boards. However, there is no evidence that the supply and demand affect the presence of women CEOs. The presence of women CEOs has a positive effect on ESG through environmental and social pillars. The study finds evidence to support the critical mass hypothesis that firms with three or more women boards tend to have higher financial and ESG performance.Social implicationsUnderstanding the supply and demand for gender diversity in corporate leadership in countries that are considered as lagging is critical to foster the global objective to level the playing field for women to participate in corporate management leadership as important part the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (UNSDG) 5.5. The positive impact of women directors on corporate financial and social performance can be achieved, especially when the critical mass is reached. This highlights the importance of greater gender representations in corporate boards and top executive level in order to make a meaningful social change.Originality/valueThis study demonstrates that the supply of women who currently hold corporate management positions has positive influence on the presence of women boards. This study also demonstrates that a national legislation that promotes gender diversity for corporate board has a positive impact on board gender diversity among Greek listed firms. This study also highlights the importance of integrating the critical mass perspective in considering the impact of supply and demand for women in corporate leadership on firms' financial and ESG performance.

The Influence of Foreign Ownership, Environmental Certification, Board of Commissioners, Women Directors on Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure

This study aims to analyze the effect of foreign ownership, environmental certification, board of commissioners, women directors on corporate social responsibility disclosure in manufacture companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) 2017-2021. The population of this study are manufacturing companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) in 2017–2021. The sampling method used was purposive sampling. There were 65 companies that met the criteria and became the research sample. The data analysis technique uses panel data regression with a random effect model.
 The results show that foreign ownership has an effect on CSR disclosure because foreigners are considered more concerned about corporate social responsibility. Environmental certification has an effect on CSR disclosure because certified companies expect their products to have a high reputation and be well received by the public and their stakeholders. The size of the board of commissioners has an effect on csr disclosure because of the authority they have, the board of commissioners can exert a strong enough influence to put pressure on management to disclose csr. Meanwhile, women directors has no effect on CSR disclosure due to the minimal percentage of women directors in the study compared to the presence of male directors. The results of this study are expected to provide an overview of the importance of social responsibility in companies. The company is not only seen as a profit-creating institution for the owners of capital, but also must be seen as an institution that creates community welfare by taking into account the sustainability of the environment in which the company operates, so that there is a balance between people, planet and profit in accordance with the Triple-P Bottom Line concept. The novelty of the research is the addition of women on directors variables using the upper echelon theory as well as being examined using the random effect model.
 Key words : Foreign ownership, environmental certification, board of commissioners, women on directors on corporate social responsibility disclosure.

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.

KESAN HUBUNGAN PENGARAH WANITA DAN PRESTASI SAHAM DI NEGARA-NEGARA ASEAN: KAJIAN KOMPREHENSIF

The participation of women on boards of directors and the performance of companies has always been a subject of debate among academic experts, prompting governments and policymakers to update and establish regulations to encourage women's participation on boards to make crucial decisions for businesses. Numerous academic studies have been undertaken in business, economics, finance, accounting, and the social sciences to study the effects of women directors on firm performance, operations, value, and share performance. On the basis of prior empirical investigations, the results have not yet achieved a definitive reference point for stakeholders such as boards of directors, companies, shareholders, investors, and governments. However, such research is still scarce in ASEAN nations. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to conduct a comprehensive literature analysis concerning the impact of women directors on share performance in the share markets of Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia. This study will examine the theoretical and empirical elements of the connection between women directors and share performance in order to identify research gaps for the future. Several crucial components of theory, operations, measurement, contextualization, and methodology have been identified in empirical investigations. The conclusions of this study cannot yet be applied to broader contexts, sectors, or people, as determined by a review of relevant prior research. In addition, this paper outlines other research avenues that should be pursued to gain a deeper knowledge of women directors and share performance. Based on the outcomes of this study, it can be stated that the conclusions of previous research remain inconsistent. Finally, the study's policy, theoretical, and practical consequences are examined.

Gender equality at stake: women’s strategies, symbolic violence and resistance in Italian boards of directors

ABSTRACT Italy promulgated the ‘Golfo-Mosca Law’ obliging companies to introduce gender quotas on boards of directors. The goal was to analyse whether or to what extent women bring gender equality to boards’ debates as well as men’s reactions following the introduction of quotas. The authors interviewed 100 women directors and 34 men CEOs/Presidents between June 2020 and February 2021, referring to the concepts of ‘critical mass’, ‘symbolic violence’ and ‘post-feminist sensibility’ in order to interpret the data. The analysis shows that gender quotas are considered necessary for modifying boards’ routines. However, the introduction of the gender equality topic in the debate is difficult, also in a critical mass situation, depending on the experience of women within boards. In relation to this, the authors identify strategies adopted by women (‘avoiding’, ‘neutral’ and ‘empowering’) and forms of resistance they encountered within the boards (‘denial’, ‘second class citizenship’, ‘microaggressions’, ‘backlash and gender fatigue’), showing that the potential transformative role of women as board members is variable and limited. Men appear as the guardians of the gendered symbolic order, considering gender equality as a means to enhance companies’ reputations.

Gender diversity in leadership: Empirical evidence on firm credit risk

We study the relation between firm financial stability and gender diversity in leadership and highlight its dependence on the initial financial conditions of the firm and the role played by the women leaders. Consistent with the glass cliff and the upper echelon theories, we find that close-to-default firms are more likely to appoint women top executives and that under their leadership, subsequent firms’ risk of default decreases in the short to medium term. In parallel, independent women directors are not associated with firms’ past credit risk, and their presence is more likely to increase the firm’s subsequent default risk, as established by the tokenism and signaling theory. Our results are robust to alternative specifications and endogeneity corrections.

Conflicting cultures, compromising care: A heuristic inquiry of women directors of college counseling centers.

Conflicting cultures, compromising care: A heuristic inquiry of women directors of college counseling centers.

Does board composition matter for innovation? A longitudinal study of the organizational slack–innovation relationship in Nasdaq-100 companies

In high-tech industries, firms accumulate increasing amounts of excess resources. Existent research paints an ambiguous picture of these slack resources for innovation: while some slack is integral for innovation as fuel for experimentation, too much slack inhibits innovation by causing inefficiencies. However, firms in high-tech industries cannot develop and sustain competitive advantages in the long run without sufficient and steady investments in innovation. Additionally, the increasing complexities within these highly dynamic industries make it easier for managers to pursue their self-interests—often to the organization’s detriment. Against this backdrop, the role of the board of directors is particularly crucial in high-tech industries, as it determines the efficacy of the board’s governance and resource provisioning functions. This study proposes several board characteristics as moderators of the slack–innovation relationship. The dataset builds on a longitudinal sample of high-tech firms from the Nasdaq-100 Index between 2010 and 2020. The results advance management literature by extending the notion of slack resources as a double-edged sword to high-tech industries. The findings also show that this relationship is contingent on specific board characteristics: larger and more independent boards dampen this relationship, while longer board tenure, more board affiliations, and a larger share of women directors amplify it. Further, the findings caution managers to balance the necessity of slack resources for promoting innovation with its efficiency detriment. The results additionally inform practitioners on determining the optimal board composition in the face of mounting competitive pressures for sustained innovation.

Intersecting gender, ethnicity, and sexuality in Arantxa Echevarría’s film Carmen & Lola (Spain, 2018)

Arantxa Echevarría’s film Carmen y Lola (2018) takes a groundbreaking new approach to intersectionality and lesbian identity contextualizing a lesbian coming-of-age-story and its multicultural background and context. Owing to the colonial gaze and the outsider’s perspective in the story telling, the film makes some major missteps in its representation of the Romani community in Spain. But nonetheless, the intersectional presentation is groundbreaking in terms of representation of lesbian diversity and experiences, since it portrays the lesbian subject as a triple minority: woman, lesbian, and Roma – a minority ethnic group still discriminated against in Spain. The story of two female Roma adolescents coming to terms with their mutual homoerotic desire intertwines with the marginality of their community and a conservative and homophobic environment in which lesbianism does not find a space. I argue that Echevarría’s film explores the topics of minorities both in terms of ethnicity and sexual orientation. The director aims to represent this otherness as a marginalized and decentered subjectivity that intersects with other axes of discrimination. It is from this marginal position that the film explores the forms of resistance against the control of the lesbian body that women directors are carrying out in Spanish cinema.

Nexus between corporate environmental disclosures and gender diversity: Interaction effects of board independence

AbstractThis study examines the impact of gender diversity (GD) in the board of directors on corporate environmental disclosures (ED). It develops an integrative theoretical framework to explore diverse facets of the nexus of GD and ED. Using Indian‐listed firms for a sample period of 2015 to 2021, panel models have been used to validate the theoretical assumptions of the study. The empirical results reveal that women directors improve ED. Moreover, the role of women in driving environmental disclosure becomes evident only after achieving a critical mass of three directors. Our research contributes to the literature using board independence as moderator, for the first time in this context, and it was found that it moderates GD–ED relationship significantly. The findings could be beneficial for policymakers and regulators to recognize how GD is vital to firms to achieve best environmental practices. More initiatives may be deployed to reinforce women's representation in boardrooms for enhancing ED. Our study is one of the foremost studies to examine the impact of board GD on ED based on gender socialization, critical mass, and resource dependency theoretical framework.

Women and CSR budgeting and spending: Does ownership enhance their CSR role?

AbstractWe investigate the impact of women shareholders on corporate social responsibility (CSR) and how they interact with women directors to exert a greater influence on CSR activities. Little is known about how women's ownership can enhance their roles in CSR practices. Based on data from Omani‐listed firms during 2016–2020 and using CSR budgeting and spending as proxies for CSR activities, firms with women shareholders allocate more CSR budgeting and spend more money on CSR activities. However, we also find that women directors can only affect CSR budgeting and spending if their representation on the board is increased. Furthermore, we find that firms with women shareholders and directors have higher CSR budgeting and spending. Further analysis reveals that women shareholders are more likely to spend money on CSR activities within the budgeted amount and are less likely to be associated with gaps between CSR budgeting and spending. This analysis also shows that the type of ownership (family versus non‐family) influences women shareholders' effects on CSR budgeting and spending. Our empirical findings provide critical insights into how woman shareholders influence CSR actions.

Does Islamic corporate governance prevent bankruptcy in Islamic banks? Implications for economic sustainability

PurposeSustainability is essential to the ongoing operations of banks, though it is much less clear how Islamic corporate governance (ICG) promotes economic sustainability (ES) and thereby prevents bankruptcy. To explore the unexplored, this study aims to examine the efficacy of ICG in preventing bankruptcy and enhancing the ES of Islamic banks operating in Pakistan.Design/methodology/approachThe current study measures ES through Altman's Z-score to analyze the level of the industry's stability and consequently examines the effect of ICG on the ES of Islamic banks in Pakistan for the post-financial-crises period. Using the country-level data, this study utilized a fixed-effect model and two-stage least squares (2SLS) techniques on balanced panel data spanning from 2009 to 2020 to provide empirical evidence.FindingsThe empirical results unveiled that board size and meetings have a significant positive influence on the ES while managerial ownership demonstrated an unfavorable effect on ES. Interestingly, the insignificant effect of women directors became significant with the inclusion of controlled variables. Overall, the findings indicate that ICG is an efficient tool for promoting ES in Islamic banks and preventing them from the negative effects of emerging crises.Practical implicationsThe findings provide concrete insights for policymakers, regulators and other concerned stakeholders to execute a sturdy corporate governance system that not only oversees the economic, social and ethical aspects but also provides measures to alleviate the impacts of potential risks like the COVID-19 pandemic.Social implicationsExamining the role of ICG in alleviating bankruptcy risk is an informative and useful endeavor for all social actors.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is one of the first efforts to provide evidence-based insights on the role of ICG in preventing bankruptcy and offers a potential research direction for ES.

Family firm status and environmental disclosure: The moderating effect of board gender diversity

AbstractBuilding on agency and resource‐based view theories, this study investigates the level of environmental disclosure (ED) practices of family versus non‐family firms and explores the moderating role of board gender diversity. We test our hypotheses on a 3‐year (2018–2020) panel data sample comprising 324 observations of Italian small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises traded on the Euronext Growth Milan. Findings show that, compared to non‐family firms, companies with a family firm status are characterized by lower levels of ED. Gender diversity on the board, however, moderates this relationship, reducing this gap, to the extent that the family firm status is associated with higher ED when the number of women directors is high enough to constitute a critical mass. We consequently contribute to the studies on family business, corporate governance, and corporate social responsibility.

Feminine expertise on board and environmental innovation: the role of critical mass

This paper examines whether women’s attitudes toward environmental innovation are impacted by their individual differences in skills, expertise, experience, and technical knowledge, as well as their visibility and legitimacy on boards. Using the categorization of directors developed by Hillman et al (J Manag Stud 37(2):235–256, 2000) and a dataset including the largest non-financial Spanish-listed entities reported on the IBEX-35 between 2015 and 2019, we can confirm the influence of female business expert and support specialist directors on environmental innovation. We find that although female business expert directors seem to positively influence environmental innovation even below a critical mass, female support specialist directors are only significant and positive drivers of eco-initiation when they gain power and authority on the board. This study confirms the need to examine the connection between women directors and eco-innovation based not only on their expertise and experience but also on their position and legitimacy on the board. In this regard, our results provide evidence that female support specialists need to have a large enough representation on boards to be effective in developing green initiatives. Our results are robust to alternative measures of green innovation (i.e., environmental performance) and overcome endogeneity concerns.