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The board of directors and dividend policy: the effect of gender diversity

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  • María Consuelo Pucheta-Martínez
  • Inmaculada Bel-Oms

Abstract

In this article, we aim to study the impact on dividends policy of gender diversity on the board of directors (hereinafter BD). We hypothesize that the proportion of women directors, the proportion of independent, institutional, and executive female directors, and the percentage of shares held by female directors on BD, have an impact on the dividends policy of Spanish companies. Our findings, analyzing the whole sample, show that the proportion of female directors and shares held by female directors are positively associated with dividend payout, while the percentage of institutional female directors has a negative impact. The percentage of independent and executive female directors has no effect on dividend payout. When companies with losses are removed from the sample, the findings report that the percentage of female directors on BD and the percentage of independent female directors impact positively on dividend policy, while the percentage of institutional and executive female directors has a negative effect. The proportion of shares held by female directors on BD does not have an effect on dividend payout when only companies with profits are examined. Thus, the results confirm that gender diversity has an influence on dividend payout, so the existing legislation should encourage more participation by women in governing bodies. Our evidence supports the Act for Effective Equality between Women and Men, which establishes that listing companies have to achieve a quota of 40% of women in decision-making bodies by 2015.

Suggested Citation

  • María Consuelo Pucheta-Martínez & Inmaculada Bel-Oms, 2016. "The board of directors and dividend policy: the effect of gender diversity," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 25(3), pages 523-547.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:indcch:v:25:y:2016:i:3:p:523-547.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Fernando, Guy D. & Schneible, Richard A. & Zhang, Wei, 2024. "Institutional ownership and women in the top management team," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    2. Evans Gary L., 2018. "Bold vision: Gender diversity stuck in transition," Economics and Business Review, Sciendo, vol. 4(4), pages 97-114, November.
    3. Dorota Korenkiewicz & Wolfgang Maennig, 2023. "Women on a Corporate Board of Directors and Consumer Satisfaction," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 14(4), pages 3904-3928, December.
    4. Saeed, Abubakr & Sameer, Muhammad, 2017. "Impact of board gender diversity on dividend payments: Evidence from some emerging economies," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 26(6), pages 1100-1113.
    5. Kalyani Mulchandani & Ketan Mulchandani & Sahil Singh Jasrotia, 2021. "Does gender diversity on firm’s board affect dividend payouts? Evidence from India," Future Business Journal, Springer, vol. 7(1), pages 1-11, December.
    6. Gattai, Valeria & Natale, Piergiovanna & Rossi, Francesca, 2023. "Board diversity and outward FDI: Evidence from europe," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    7. Valeria Gattai & Piergiovanna Natale & Francesca Rossi, 2022. "Board Diversity and Outward FDI: Evidence from Europe," Working Papers 491, University of Milano-Bicocca, Department of Economics, revised Mar 2022.
    8. Danilo Boffa & Antonio Prencipe & Luciano D’Amico & Christian Corsi, 2023. "Gender Inclusiveness and Female Representation on the Board of Directors of the Benefit Company Model: Evidence from Italy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-20, March.
    9. Qurat Ul Ain & Xianghui Yuan & Hafiz Mustansar Javaid & Jinkai Zhao & Li Xiang, 2021. "Board Gender Diversity and Dividend Policy in Chinese Listed Firms," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(1), pages 21582440219, February.
    10. Ahmed, Ammad & Monem, Reza M. & Delaney, Deborah & Ng, Chew, 2017. "Gender diversity in corporate boards and continuous disclosure: Evidence from Australia," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 13(2), pages 89-107.
    11. Ernest Gyapong & Ammad Ahmed & Collins G Ntim & Muhammad Nadeem, 2021. "Board gender diversity and dividend policy in Australian listed firms: the effect of ownership concentration," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 38(2), pages 603-643, June.
    12. Nguyen, Thi Hong Hanh & Ntim, Collins G. & Malagila, John K., 2020. "Women on corporate boards and corporate financial and non-financial performance: A systematic literature review and future research agenda," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    13. Ruiying Xiao, 2024. "Female Entrepreneur on Board:Assessing the Effect of Gender on Corporate Financial Constraints," Papers 2401.02134, arXiv.org.
    14. Beloskar, Ved Dilip & Haldar, Arunima & Gupta, Anupama, 2024. "Gender equality and women’s empowerment: A bibliometric review of the literature on SDG 5 through the management lens," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    15. Koray Aktas & Valeria Gattai & Piergiovanna Natale, 2021. "Board Gender Quotas and Outward Foreign Direct Investment: Evidence from France," Working Papers 485, University of Milano-Bicocca, Department of Economics, revised Dec 2021.

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