Demographic diversity in companies' boards and the relationship to companies' financial performance: a systematic literature review

Demographic diversity in top management boards and its relationship to companies' financial performance is a well-documented research area, however, with diverse empirical results. In our systematic literature review, we focus on empirical work examining this relationship. We analyse the distribution of various demographic diversity dimensions and corresponding variables in literature, various applied heterogeneity measures, considered relationship outcomes, and the identified cross-citations between papers. We consider research from 1990 to 2022 for our sample of 152 publications. Our contribution uniquely combines a broader theoretical overview with an analysis of differences in existing literature between various demographic diversity dimensions tested, diversity and financial performance measurement types utilised, and ultimate empirical relationship outcomes. Our analysis concludes that there are more positive than negative relationship findings regarding the relationship of top management diversity and financial performance, irrespective of the variables utilised in empirical research designs, but with significant variability in relevance between diversity dimensions.