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Has the Push for Equal Gender Representation Changed the Role of Women on German Supervisory Boards?

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Listed:
  • Bozhinov, Viktor

    (University of Mainz)

  • Koch, Christopher

    (University of Mainz)

  • Schank, Thorsten

    (University of Mainz)

Abstract

In Germany, an intensive public debate about increasing female participation in leadership positions started in 2009 and proceeded until the beginning of 2015, when the German parliament enacted a board gender quota. In that period, the share of women on supervisory boards for 111 German publicly listed and fully codetermined companies (i.e. those which are affected by the quota law) more than doubled from 10.6 percent in 2009 to 22.6 percent in 2015. In 2016, the first year when the law was effective, the female share increased again by 4.5 percentage points. Using a hand-collected dataset, we investigate whether the rise in female board representation was accompanied by a change in gender differences in board member characteristics and board involvement. We do not find evidence for the "Golden Skirts" phenomenon, i.e., the rise in the female share was not achieved via a few female directors holding multiple board memberships. After controlling for firm heterogeneity, the remuneration of female shareholder (employee) representatives is about 16 (9) percent lower than for males. We interpret this as an overall indication that women are not only underrepresented in German supervisory boards, they are even more underrepresented in important board positions. Indeed, women are less likely to become a chairman and are less often assigned to board committees (except for the nominating committee). Moreover, in 2016 the disadvantage of women (as compared to men) to obtain a committee membership is even larger than in 2009.

Suggested Citation

  • Bozhinov, Viktor & Koch, Christopher & Schank, Thorsten, 2017. "Has the Push for Equal Gender Representation Changed the Role of Women on German Supervisory Boards?," IZA Discussion Papers 11057, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
  • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp11057
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Seierstad, Cathrine & Opsahl, Tore, 2011. "For the few not the many? The effects of affirmative action on presence, prominence, and social capital of women directors in Norway," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 27(1), pages 44-54, March.
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    3. 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.
    4. Singh, Val & Terjesen, Siri & Vinnicombe, Susan, 2008. "Newly appointed directors in the boardroom:: How do women and men differ," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 26(1), pages 48-58, February.
    5. Daehyun Kim & Laura T. Starks, 2016. "Gender Diversity on Corporate Boards: Do Women Contribute Unique Skills?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 106(5), pages 267-271, May.
    6. Goh, Lisa & Gupta, Aditi, 2016. "Remuneration of non-executive directors: Evidence from the UK," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 48(3), pages 379-399.
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    Cited by:

    1. Francisco Bravo & Nuria Reguera‐Alvarado, 2019. "Sustainable development disclosure: Environmental, social, and governance reporting and gender diversity in the audit committee," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(2), pages 418-429, February.
    2. Franziska Handschumacher-Knors, 2023. "Does a gender pay gap exist on executive boards? An empirical multilevel analysis of executive board compensation in German listed companies," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 93(3), pages 325-357, April.
    3. Franziska Handschumacher & Willi Ceschinski, 2020. "Besteht ein Zusammenhang zwischen der Gender-Diversity und Überwachungseffektivität des Aufsichtsrats? Eine empirische Analyse deutscher börsennotierter Unternehmen [Is There a Link Between Gender ," Schmalenbach Journal of Business Research, Springer, vol. 72(2), pages 213-251, June.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    gender diversity; women on boards; gender quota; board remuneration; committee membership;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance
    • G38 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J30 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - General

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