Gender (and other) Diversity in Corporate Boards and Firm Performance

The study examines the relationship between gender diversity on boards and firm performance. Providing complex analysis, we identify the main firm characteristics, to which gender diversity on board has the greatest impact, and test them with regression analysis. Thus, we highlight the following aspects: firm risk-taking and board independence. The initial sample includes US-listed firms from Russell 3000 from 2010 to 2015. It was stated that firms with women on boards tend to decrease risk-level. Moreover, female directors improve the independence of the board, acting similarly to independent directors. Finally, we investigate that women on boards could differently affect firm performance. The results are robust to endogeneity issues and provide evidence that the relation between the presence of women on boards and firm’s characteristics matters. We contribute to the existing literature providing additional evidence about the role of women on corporate boards.