Women director interlocks and firm performance: Evidence from India

This paper empirically examines the ties of women directors on company boards and provides a gendered perspective of the performance effects of interlocking directorates on which empirical evidence is scant. Relatedly, it sheds light on the unaddressed issue of whether such ties can be one of the mediating factors through which women on board impact firm performance. Using a panel of listed firms in India for the years 2010–2020 covering periods of pre and post institution of gender quota in India, our study finds that women director connectedness, as captured in select network centrality measures, has a positive and robust effect on firm value. We further find evidence that the positive relationship with firm value is driven by information transmitted to the firm via women director networks and the influence on governance that such networked women directors have on company boards. Finally, based on a director level analysis we find that more connected women directors contribute to corporate governance through higher meeting attendance and memberships in important committees. The findings of our paper highlight the unique role of women director interlocks in firm governance and performance.