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Situated in the context of India, where women’s representation on corporate boards remains low, this study aims to explore whether and how tokenism impacts the behaviours of female directors.

The boardroom experiences and perceptions of 14 women directors are explored through semi-structured interviews and analysed using an inductive and interpretive process. Also, to get a counter perspective and avoid the social desirability bias from the women participants’ responses, 16 men directors are interviewed.

The study finds that, as gender minorities, women directors' visibility on boards can create performance pressures on these women. To counter gender-based prejudices, women directors consciously alter their behaviours and project both male and female traits consistent with the director role. By doing so, women directors overcome tokenistic stereotypes and are accepted as part of the director in-group, irrespective of their numeric representation on the board.

The research has implications for governments attempting to increase women’s board presence through affirmative actions and for firms aiming to improve the gender diversity of their board composition.

These findings present an alternative perspective on women directors’ board behaviour by exploring the applicability of Western trends on tokenism and critical mass in the context of India, adding to the vast body of literature concerned with minorities on corporate boards.

The European Union (EU) has recently adopted gender quotas for corporate boards (CBQ), anticipating ripple effects on women’s careers in the companies concerned, as well as throughout the economy. The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether CBQ has spurred ripple effects and discuss mechanisms hindering or facilitating women’s occupancy of top executive positions.

Norway was the first country in the world to introduce CBQ in 2003, with full effect from 2008. The policy requires company boards to be composed of 40% of each gender. Drawing on original data mapping boards and executive committees in Norway’s 200 largest companies, the authors analyze the association between CBQ and the gender composition of executive management almost 15 years after the full implementation. The data include both companies covered by the CBQ and large companies not covered.

The investigation does not find a positive association between CBQ and more women in executive positions. Thus, the ripple effect hypothesis of CBQ is not supported. CBQ may have contributed to an increased awareness of gender imbalances, yet these findings indicate that to achieve more gender balance in executive positions, scholars and practitioners may need to focus more on gendered conditions and processes in organizations and society throughout executive careers than on the gender composition of boards.

This paper provides empirical analyses of original data 15 years after the implementation of CBQ. The authors further contribute to scholarly debate by identifying and discussing possible mechanisms that explain how requiring more women on corporate boards may – or may not – have ripple effects on executive management.

This study aims to analyze the connection between institutional isomorphic pressures and both women serving on boards and women’s influence on boards within large American firms.

This study examines a longitudinal panel data set of all Standard and Poor’s (S&P) 500 organizations across a seven-year period from 2009 to 2015.

The analyses affirm that institutional isomorphic pressures impact the prevalence and influence of women on boards. Evidence suggests that coercive and normative pressures strongly impact the number of women serving as corporate directors, whereas the power of women directors is linked only to mimetic pressures.

The research suggests that to increase the number of women serving as directors, the industry must first increase the overall number of women serving in senior management roles. Once women directors gain a critical mass of three women on the board, the association with the total number of women directors, the number of boards upon which they concurrently serve, the power of women directors being selected to board leadership and the influence of women directors increase.

This paper extends existing board diversity work by examining institutional pressures at the international, national and firm levels. By examining the relationship between coercive, normative and mimetic pressures on both the prevalence of women on boards and the influence of women on boards, the authors illuminate certain mechanisms that shape the likelihood of board appointment and placement in more powerful positions.

For almost half a century, society has been aware of the existence of a glass ceiling, a term that describes the invisible barriers that hinder women’s access to power positions despite having equal or greater qualifications, skills and merits than their male counterparts. Nowadays, although there are signs of slow progress, women are still underrepresented in the upper echelons of large corporations and the risk of reversing the progress made in gender parity has increased because of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper contributes to previous literature by analysing the impact that the uncertainty and cognitive effects associated with COVID-19 in 2020 had on the presence of women on the board of directors and whether this impact has been moderated by the regulatory and policy system on gender quotas in place at the time.

To test the authors' research hypotheses, the authors selected the major global companies worldwide with economic-financial and non-financial information available in the Thomson Reuters EIKON database over the 2015–2020 period. As a result, the authors' final sample is made up of 1,761 companies from 52 countries with different institutional settings that constitute an unbalanced data panel of 8,963 observations. The nature of the dependent variables requires the use of logistic regressions. The models incorporate the terms to control for any unobservable heterogeneity and the error term. Any endogeneity issues were addressed by considering the explanatory variables with a time lag.

The authors find that almost 30% of the companies downsized their boards in 2020. This decision resulted in more female than male directors being made redundant, causing a reversal in the fulfilment of gender quotas focussed on ensuring balanced boards with a female presence of 40% or more. This effect was enhanced in countries with hard-law regulation because the penalty for non-compliance with gender quotas had led to a significant increase in the size of these bodies in previous years through the inclusion of the required number of female directors. In contrast, the reduction in board size in soft-law countries does not differ from that in laissez-faire countries, lacking any moderating effect or impact on the number of female board members dismissed as a result of the pandemic.

This paper aims to contribute to current knowledge by analysing the impact that the countries' regulatory and normative systems on gender parity on boards of directors have had on the decisions made in relation to leadership positions, moderating the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on gender equality at a global level.

This study aims to investigate how the presence of female executives on the board affects a company’s capital structure decisions. The critical mass of female executives on the board was also considered to observe their impact on capital structure.

Samples were taken from nonfinancial sector companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange between 2012 and 2021 (3,707 firm-year observations). Capital structure was measured using four approaches, namely, debt-to-total asset ratio (DAR), debt-to-equity ratio (DER), short-term debt-to-total assets (STD) and long-term debt-to-total assets (LTD). The data were analyzed using panel data regression analysis, including a fixed effects model with clustered standard errors.

The presence of female executives on the board is significantly negatively related to capital structure as measured by DER and STD. The critical mass of women provided no evidence of a relationship with a firm’s capital structure. Robustness checks were performed, and the results were consistent with those in the main analysis.

Female executives can be appointed to management boards when determining a strategy to achieve the capital structure desired by a company.

This study increases the diversity of research in corporate governance by synthesizing various indicators from female executives into a single study to determine their relationships with companies’ capital structures. In addition, this study stands out by incorporating four distinct indicators for assessing capital structure and diverging from the norm observed in many other studies, many of which rely on just two indicators: DAR and DER. Moreover, it strongly emphasizes the unique economic, legal, social and cultural landscapes of developing countries like Indonesia in comparison to their developed counterparts, particularly Western nations.

In recent years, the field of financial technology (Fintech) has garnered significant attention due to advancements in technology, evolving consumer preferences and the growing need for financial services that are more accessible and user-friendly. The exponential expansion of Fintech is presenting novel prospects and obstacles for business. This study aims to investigate the relationship between gender diversity on corporate boards and firms’ performance, with a particular focus on the moderating role of Fintech.

The study sample consisted of financial sector firms listed on the Bahrain Bourse (banks and insurance firms) during the period 2016–2022. The data were gathered primarily from annual reports and the Bahrain Bourse website. The independent variable represents the percentage of female directors on corporate boards while firms’ accounting and market-based performance were measured using return on assets and Tobin’s Q variables. The moderating variable, Fintech, was measured using a checklist developed using the Global Fintech Adoption Index. Fixed effect (FE) regression was used to analyze the study data. An alternative gender diversity measure was used to test the reliability of the main regression analysis.

The results of the study indicate a positive relationship between gender diversity on corporate boards and financial performance. Additionally, the findings of the study highlighted the positive impact of Fintech practices on firms’ performance. Nevertheless, the impact of Fintech on the relationship between board gender diversity and corporate performance was found to be insignificant.

The study sample included a particular sector in a single country, which may limit the generalizability of the findings. Also, the current study applied FE regression to analyze the data; however, other econometric approaches could be used to overcome the endogeneity issue.

The findings of this study may have implications for policymakers and society, particularly in terms of promoting gender diversity and Fintech innovation.

This study contributes to the existing body of research by examining the potential impact of the percentage of female directors and the utilization of Fintech on firms’ performance in Bahrain. Given the ongoing endeavors to provide advanced Fintech solutions in the financial sector and the increasing focus on enhancing gender diversity in Bahraini corporate boards, this research aims to provide additional evidence in this domain. Moreover, this study stands out as one of the limited number of research endeavors that use Fintech as a moderating variable in the investigation of the impact of female directors on firms’ performance.

This study aims to examine whether information asymmetry (IA) mediates the relationship between women directors and the cost of equity (COE). Specifically, this study posits that women directors tend to lower the COE through the channel of IA.

This study uses the US-listed firms’ data from 2002 to 2014, comprising 11,189 firm-year observations. This study measures the COE by aggregating the four unique market-based COE models and apply pooled ordinary least square to estimate our results.

This study documents that women directors are linked to IA, and that IA is linked to the COE. Furthermore, in the mediation test, IA fully mediates the relationship between women directors and the COE. This study's results also validate the critical mass hypothesis, as the IA shows full mediation between the critical mass of women directors and COE. This study also discusses the limitations and major implications of the results along with possible future directions.

This study also supports the positive role of females in improvising the economic performance of the firms and supporting the sustainable development goals-5 (gender equality).

The originality of this study lies in its theoretical as well as empirical contributions. First, this study follows the line of inquiry of the mediation analysis, thereby contributing by examining whether the relationship between women directors and financial value, i.e. COE, is indirect. Second, in addition to ex post measures of the COE, this study used four ex ante unique market-based models to measure the COE. Most of the prior studies just rely on book-based measures or use a single market-based mode. Third, the findings contribute insights into how women directors add value and benefits firms.

The purpose of this study was to examine the moderating role of institutional ownership on the relationship between board gender diversity and earnings management (EM) among listed firms in East African Community (EAC) partner states.

The study used a sample of 71 firms listed in the EAC partner states over 2011–2020. Data were handpicked from the individual firm's audited annual financial reports. Based on the results of the Hausman test, the study used the results of the fixed-effect regression model to test the hypotheses. To test the robustness of the results, the study employed an alternative measure of EM and two additional econometric techniques, including the pooled ordinary least squares (OLS) and the system generalized method of moments (GMM).

The empirical findings revealed that female directors improve the board's effectiveness in monitoring managerial roles. Specifically, the results showed a significantly negative relationship between the proportion of women in the corporate board and EM (as measured by discretionary accruals (DAs)). The findings further revealed an inverse relationship between the proportion of institutional ownership and EM. Finally, the results further demonstrated that institutional ownership enhances the role of board gender diversity in mitigating EM among listed firms in the EAC.

The findings of this study may be useful to managers, investors and regulators in assessing the role of institutional ownership and women's participation on corporate boards as a strategy for alleviating unethical manipulation of earnings.

The findings of this study contribute to the growing concern on gender inequality, especially the marginalization of women from the paid labor force and decision-making. The findings highlight the importance of having more women in the corporate board since this may help in mitigating corporate fraud. Similarly, the findings highlight the importance of institutional ownership as a corporate governance (CG) tool.

Previous studies have reported mixed empirical results on whether board gender diversity mitigates EM. To the best of the author's knowledge, this is the first paper to fill the existing gap by exploring whether institutional ownership moderates the relationship between board gender diversity and EM among listed firms in the EAC.

Drawing on legitimacy and upper-echelon theory, this paper aims to investigate the moderating role of corporate governance in the relationship between corporate social performance (CSP) and board gender diversity (BGD).

Using Morgan Stanley Capital International measures of social and governance performance, the authors use 2,950 firm-year observations from US companies for the years 2016–2020 to show that good performance on social issues drives BGD.

The panel data model indicates that the relationship between CSP and BGD is strengthened when firms display robust corporate governance.

This study contributes to the extant literature through empirical consideration of CSP as a predictor of BGD, a relationship that has rarely been examined. It further highlights the significant role of corporate governance in ensuring that women have access to corporate boards. Discussion and findings highlight that social performance and governance may significantly contribute to the diversity of socially cognizant boards.

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of board gender diversity on corporate social performance (CSP) in Brazilian companies.

This research collected available information on the CSP, financial performance and governance of Brazilian companies for five years (2016–2020). The dependent variable of this study is CSP (workforce, human rights, community and respect for the product). The independent variable is gender diversity. The authors control financial performance, the presence of a social responsibility committee and the industry sector. The data were analyzed using the dynamic panel data system, which is the generalized method of moments (GMM) estimator.

This empirical investigation confirmed the hypothesis that the female presence on boards has a positive effect on the CSP of Brazilian companies. The findings of this study are consistent with previous studies. The authors' results suggest that women are more socially aware and exhibit more social corporate behavior.

Supplementing financial reports with nonfinancial information draws the attention of regulators and shareholders. Companies can also create human resources policies for appointing women to senior management positions and a succession plan that values the talent that women bring to companies.

A critical mass of women on the board can provide an effective balance, considering the diversity of backgrounds and experiences between men and women. Just one woman on the board can mean representation and resistance, but with a critical amount, female directors can have a voice and help formulate strategies aimed at CSP.