La représentation féminine au sein des conseils d'administration est-elle associée à la performance bancaire ? Évidence empirique à partir des banques cotées à la Bourse de Casablanca

This study examines the association between female representation on boards of directors and the financial performance of Moroccan banks listed on the Casablanca Stock Exchange. It seeks to determine whether the increasing presence of women in banking governance bodies constitutes an effective driver of performance or primarily reflects a process of institutional and regulatory compliance. The study adopts a quantitative, positivist, and hypothetico-deductive approach. It employs panel data techniques to analyze the relationship between the proportion of female directors and two indicators of bank performance: return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE). Several econometric specifications are estimated, including pooled OLS, fixed-effects models, and randomeffects models. Model selection relies on standard specification tests, namely the F-test, the Breusch–Pagan LM test, and the Hausman test. Alternative specifications incorporating both bank and year fixed effects are also used to assess the robustness of the findings. The empirical analysis focuses on a balanced panel composed of six Moroccan banks listed on the Casablanca Stock Exchange and observed annually over the period 2012–2024. The sample therefore includes 78 bank-year observations. The data were collected from annual reports, published financial statements, and institutional documents. Descriptive findings reveal a substantial increase in female representation on bank boards, rising from 4.85% in 2012 to 28.98% in 2024. However, the econometric estimations indicate that gender diversity is negatively and significantly associated with both ROA and ROE only in the pooled OLS specification. After controlling for unobserved bank-specific heterogeneity through fixed-effects models, the relationship becomes statistically insignificant. Robustness checks further confirm the absence of a stable association between female board representation and bank performance. The findings suggest that the relationship initially observed between gender diversity and financial performance is primarily attributable to structural differences across banks rather than by a direct effect of women's presence on the board. Female representation, taken in isolation, does not appear sufficient to explain measurable improvements in the financial performance of Moroccan listed banks. Its potential effect seems to depend more on the effective role of female directors, their participation in strategic decision-making, their presence in key board committees, and their actual influence within governance mechanisms.