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Gender quotas on boards of directors

Author

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  • Nina Smith

    (Aarhus University, Denmark, and IZA, Germany)

Abstract

Arguments for increasing gender diversity on boards of directors range from ensuring equal opportunity to improving firm performance, but the empirical results are mixed and often negative. Current research does not justify gender quotas on grounds of economic efficiency. Furthermore, in most countries the number of women qualified to join boards of directors is limited, and it is not clear from the evidence that quotas lead to a larger pool of qualified female candidates in the medium and long term.

Suggested Citation

  • Nina Smith, 2014. "Gender quotas on boards of directors," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 1-7, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izawol:journl:y:2014:n:7
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. David A. Matsa & Amalia R. Miller, 2013. "A Female Style in Corporate Leadership? Evidence from Quotas," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 5(3), pages 136-169, July.
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    5. Nina Smith & Valdemar Smith & Mette Verner, 2006. "Do women in top management affect firm performance?A panel study of 2,500 Danish firms," International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 55(7), pages 569-593, October.
    6. Adams, Renée B. & Ferreira, Daniel, 2009. "Women in the boardroom and their impact on governance and performance," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(2), pages 291-309, November.
    7. Bøhren, Øyvind & Staubo, Siv, 2014. "Does mandatory gender balance work? Changing organizational form to avoid board upheaval," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 152-168.
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    9. Nina Smith & Pierpaolo Parrotta, 2018. "Why so Few Women on Boards of Directors? Empirical Evidence from Danish Companies in 1998–2010," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 147(2), pages 445-467, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Jose Garcia-Louzao & Ruben Perez-Sanz, 2024. "Women’s Voice at Work and Family-Friendly Firms," CESifo Working Paper Series 10982, CESifo.
    2. repec:ces:ifodic:v:12:y:2014:i:2:p:19116215 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Rebérioux, Antoine & Roudaut, Gwenael, 2016. "Gender Quota inside the Boardroom: Female Directors as New Key Players?," CEPREMAP Working Papers (Docweb) 1603, CEPREMAP.
    4. Parrotta, Pierpaolo & Smith, Nina, 2013. "Why So Few Women on Boards of Directors? Empirical Evidence from Danish Companies 1997-2007," IZA Discussion Papers 7678, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Carter, David A. & Shank, Corey A., 2023. "Do religiosity and political beliefs affect female representation and firm performance?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    6. Agata Maida & Andrea Weber, 2022. "Female Leadership and Gender Gap within Firms: Evidence from an Italian Board Reform," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 75(2), pages 488-515, March.
    7. Antoine Rebérioux & Gwenaël Roudaut, 2019. "The Role of Rookie Female Directors in a Post‐Quota Period: Gender Inequalities within French Boards," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(3), pages 423-483, July.
    8. Alexandra Fedorets & Anna Gibert & Norma Burow, 2019. "Gender Quotas in the Boardroom: New Evidence from Germany," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 1810, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    9. Mahmoud Ahmed, 2023. "The long-term effects of female board representation on accounting quality: Causal evidence," International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 20(2), pages 109-118, June.
    10. Alexandra Fedorets & Anna Gibert, 2022. "Lifting Women Up: Gender Quotas and the Advancement of Women on Corporate Boards," Working Papers 1370, Barcelona School of Economics.
    11. Nina Smith, 2014. "Quota Regulations of Gender Composition on Boards of Directors," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 12(02), pages 42-48, July.
    12. Simona Comi & Mara Grasseni & Federica Origo & Laura Pagani, 2020. "Where Women Make a Difference: Gender Quotas and Firms’ Performance in Three European Countries," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 73(3), pages 768-793, May.
    13. Audinga Baltrunaite & Mario Cannella & Sauro Mocetti & Giacomo Roma, "undated". "Board composition and performance of state-owned enterprises: Quasi-experimental evidence," Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) 1328, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    14. Kuzey, Cemil & Fritz, Morgane M.C. & Uyar, Ali & Karaman, Abdullah S., 2022. "Board gender diversity, CSR strategy, and eco-friendly initiatives in the transportation and logistics sector," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 247(C).
    15. Jochen Theis & Marvin Nipper, 2021. "The Impact of Executives’ Gender, Financial Incentives, and Shareholder Pressure on Corporate Social and Ecological Investments," Schmalenbach Journal of Business Research, Springer, vol. 73(3), pages 307-338, December.
    16. Yan‐xi Li & Chao He, 2023. "Board diversity and corporate innovation: Evidence from Chinese listed firms," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(1), pages 1092-1115, January.
    17. Liu, Jacie Jia & Daly, Kevin & Mishra, Anil V., 2022. "Board gender diversity and bank risks: Evidence from Australia," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 1040-1052.
    18. Huang, Peng & Lu, Yue & Wu, Ji, 2023. "Does board diversity in industry-experience boost firm value? The role of corporate innovation," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    19. Ruiying Xiao, 2024. "Female Entrepreneur on Board:Assessing the Effect of Gender on Corporate Financial Constraints," Papers 2401.02134, arXiv.org.
    20. Bernile, Gennaro & Bhagwat, Vineet & Yonker, Scott, 2018. "Board diversity, firm risk, and corporate policies," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(3), pages 588-612.
    21. Simona, Comi & Mara, Grasseni & Federica, Origo & Laura, Pagani, 2017. "Where Women Make The Difference. The Effects of Corporate Board Gender Quotas on Firms’ Performance across Europe," Working Papers 367, University of Milano-Bicocca, Department of Economics, revised 12 Jul 2017.
    22. Antoine Rebérioux & Gwenael Roudaut, 2017. "Gender Quota and Inequalities inside the Boardroom," Working Papers hal-01618949, HAL.
    23. María del Pilar López Uribe & María Alejandra Chávez & María Paula Neira & Paulina Pastrana, 2021. "La Agenda Global de Género: un camino para el empoderamiento," Documentos CEDE 19150, Universidad de los Andes, Facultad de Economía, CEDE.
    24. Chen, Jie & Leung, Woon Sau & Evans, Kevin P., 2018. "Female board representation, corporate innovation and firm performance," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 236-254.
    25. Ferretti, Fabrizio & Mariani, Michele, 2017. "Gender Discrimination, Gender Disparities in Obesity and Human Development," MPRA Paper 77728, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    gender quotas; boards of directors; firm performance;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • L25 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Firm Performance

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