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Women on Boards and Firm Performance: A Microeconometric Search for a Connection

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  • Marek Gruszczyński

    (Institute of Econometrics, SGH Warsaw School of Economics, 02-554 Warszawa, Poland)

Abstract

This paper discusses questions of the gender diversity of corporate boards vis-à-vis firm performance. Typically, researchers have asked if a female presence is associated with improved performance and more transparent governance. The paper’s first part reports on several econometric attempts in the quest to prove the existence of such an association. The primary outcome is that the results vary over geographical, cultural, and time settings. The study presented in the second part examines European firms’ annual reports from 2015. Binomial models, multiple regression, and quantile regression are applied resulting in the finding that female presence on a board is not significantly related to firm performance for this sample. Together with the picture that emerged from the paper’s first part, this result leads to the possibility that the search for an association between women on boards and company performance is not fundamental. Nevertheless, modern business societies worldwide may need to boost the female presence on managerial bodies. Current econometric evidence indicates that this is not harmful to corporate results.

Suggested Citation

  • Marek Gruszczyński, 2020. "Women on Boards and Firm Performance: A Microeconometric Search for a Connection," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-13, September.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jjrfmx:v:13:y:2020:i:9:p:218-:d:416037
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Katarzyna Szarzec & Bartosz Totleben & Dawid Piątek, 2022. "Zróżnicowanie składów zarządów i rad nadzorczych polskich spółek akcyjnych," Gospodarka Narodowa. The Polish Journal of Economics, Warsaw School of Economics, issue 1, pages 79-95.
    2. Ștefan Cristian Gherghina, 2021. "Corporate Finance," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 14(2), pages 1-5, January.

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