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

Vathunyoo Sila; Angelica Gonzalez; Jens Hagendorff

doi:10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2015.10.003

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

Vathunyoo Sila (Lead Author), Angelica Gonzalez, Jens Hagendorff

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

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.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	26-53
Journal	Journal of Corporate Finance
Volume	36
Early online date	22 Oct 2015
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2015.10.003
Publication status	Published - Feb 2016

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

board of directors
gender diversity
equity risk
endogeneity

Access to Document

10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2015.10.003

Gonzalez-etal-JCF-2015-women-boardroom-gender-diversity-firm-risk.pdfAccepted author manuscript, 473 KB

Does gender diversity affect a company’s risk management?
Ben Sila, Angelica Gonzalez & Jens Hagendorff
1/05/16
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Research
Boards with many female directors take as many risks as more male-dominated ones
Ben Sila, Angelica Gonzalez & Jens Hagendorff
29/01/16
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Research

CISI Frontiers of Finance
Ben Sila (Contributor)
17 Mar 2016
Activity: Academic talk or presentation types › Invited talk

Angelica Gonzalez
- Business School - Personal Chair of Finance
- Accounting and Finance
- Corporate Finance
- Edinburgh Centre for Financial Innovations
Person: Academic: Research Active
Ben Sila
- Business School - Senior Lecturer in Finance
- Accounting and Finance
- Corporate Finance
- Edinburgh Centre for Financial Innovations
Person: Academic: Research Active

Cite this

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title = "Women on board: Does boardroom gender diversity affect firm risk?",

abstract = "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.",

keywords = "board of directors, gender diversity, equity risk , endogeneity",

author = "Vathunyoo Sila and Angelica Gonzalez and Jens Hagendorff",

year = "2016",

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doi = "10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2015.10.003",

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volume = "36",

pages = "26--53",

journal = "Journal of Corporate Finance",

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AU - Gonzalez, Angelica

AU - Hagendorff, Jens

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Y1 - 2016/2

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

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DO - 10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2015.10.003

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ER -

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

Abstract

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

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Press/Media

Does gender diversity affect a company’s risk management?

Boards with many female directors take as many risks as more male-dominated ones

Activities

CISI Frontiers of Finance

Profiles

Angelica Gonzalez

Ben Sila

Cite this