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Where Women Make a Difference: Gender Quotas and Firms’ Performance in Three European Countries

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  • Simona Comi
  • Mara Grasseni
  • Federica Origo
  • Laura Pagani

Abstract

The authors study the effect of corporate board gender quotas on firm performance in France, Italy, and Spain. The identification strategy exploits the exogenous variation in mandated gender quotas within country and over time and uses a counterfactual methodology. Using firm-level accounting data and a difference-in-difference estimator, the authors find that gender quotas had either a negative or an insignificant effect on firm performance in the countries considered with the exception of Italy, where they find a positive impact on productivity. The authors then focus on Italy. Using a novel data set containing detailed information on board members’ characteristics, they offer possible explanations for the positive effect of gender quotas. The results provide an important contribution to the policy debate about the optimal design of legislation on corporate gender quotas.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
  • Handle: RePEc:sae:ilrrev:v:73:y:2020:i:3:p:768-793
    DOI: 10.1177/0019793919846450
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    3. Anaïs Périlleux & Ariane Szafarz, 2022. "Women in the boardroom: a bottom–up approach to the trickle-down effect," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 58(4), pages 1783-1800, April.
    4. Alessandra Casarico & Salvatore Lattanzio, 2024. "What Firms Do: Gender Inequality in Linked Employer-Employee Data," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 42(2), pages 325-355.
    5. 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.
    6. Stefania Veltri & Romilda Mazzotta & Franco Ernesto Rubino, 2021. "Board diversity and corporate social performance: Does the family firm status matter?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(6), pages 1664-1679, November.
    7. Barbara Pistoresi & Erica Poma & Alberto Rinaldi, 2022. "Gender quota on corporate boards in Italy: spillover effects and financial performance," Department of Economics 0208, University of Modena and Reggio E., Faculty of Economics "Marco Biagi".
    8. 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.
    9. Dorota Korenkiewicz & Wolfgang Maennig, 2024. "Impact of women on corporate boards of directors on product quality," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 28(3), pages 841-874, September.
    10. Koray Aktaş & Valeria Gattai & Piergiovanna Natale, 2023. "Board gender quotas and outward foreign direct investment: Evidence from France," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 56(4), pages 1291-1321, November.
    11. Masso, Jaan & Meriküll, Jaanika & Vahter, Priit, 2022. "The role of firms in the gender wage gap," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 454-473.
    12. Gattai, Valeria & Natale, Piergiovanna & Rossi, Francesca, 2023. "Board diversity and outward FDI: Evidence from europe," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    13. Del Prete, Silvia & Papini, Giulio & Tonello, Marco, 2024. "Gender quotas, board diversity and spillover effects. Evidence from Italian banks," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 221(C), pages 148-173.
    14. Raquel Rego & Ana Espírito-Santo, 2023. "Beyond density: Improving European trade unions’ representativeness through gender quotas," European Journal of Industrial Relations, , vol. 29(4), pages 415-433, December.
    15. Luiz Eduardo Gaio & Angela Christina Lucas & Johan Hendrik Poker Junior & Marcio Marcelo Belli, 2024. "Gender diversity in management and corporate financial performance: A systematic literature review," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(5), pages 4047-4067, September.
    16. Devicienti, Francesco & Grinza, Elena & Manello, Alessandro & Vannoni, Davide, 2022. "Employer Cooperation, Productivity, and Wages: New Evidence from Inter-Firm Formal Network Agreements," IZA Discussion Papers 15617, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    17. Carbonero, Francesco & Devicienti, Francesco & Manello, Alessandro & Vannoni, Davide, 2021. "Women on board and firm export attitudes: Evidence from Italy," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 192(C), pages 159-175.

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