Women on board: Does boardroom gender diversity affect firm risk?

TY - JOUR

T1 - Women on board: Does boardroom gender diversity affect firm risk?

AU - Sila, Vathunyoo

AU - Gonzalez, Angelica

AU - Hagendorff, Jens

PY - 2016/2/1

Y1 - 2016/2/1

N2 - We investigate the relationship between boardroom gender diversity and firm risk. To identify a causal effect of gender on risk, we use a dynamic model that controls for reverse causality and for gender and risk being influenced by unobservable firm factors. We find no evidence that female boardroom representation influences equity risk. We also show that findings of a negative relationship between the two variables are spurious and driven by unobserved between-firm heterogeneous factors.

AB - We investigate the relationship between boardroom gender diversity and firm risk. To identify a causal effect of gender on risk, we use a dynamic model that controls for reverse causality and for gender and risk being influenced by unobservable firm factors. We find no evidence that female boardroom representation influences equity risk. We also show that findings of a negative relationship between the two variables are spurious and driven by unobserved between-firm heterogeneous factors.

KW - board of directors

KW - gender diversity

KW - equity risk

KW - endogeneity

U2 - 10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2015.10.003

DO - 10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2015.10.003

M3 - Article

SN - 0929-1199

VL - 36

SP - 26

EP - 53

JO - Journal of Corporate Finance

JF - Journal of Corporate Finance

ER -