Gender and Board Activeness: The Role of a Critical Mass

55 Pages Posted: 23 Jun 2011 Last revised: 28 Jul 2015

See all articles by Miriam Schwartz-Ziv

Miriam Schwartz-Ziv

Hebrew University of Jerusalem - Department of Finance and Banking; ECGI (European Corporate Governance Institute)

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: July 14, 2015

Abstract

This study analyzes detailed minutes of board meetings of business companies in which the Israeli government holds a substantial equity interest. Boards with at least three directors of each gender are found to be at least 79% more active at board meetings than those without such representation. This phenomenon is driven by women directors in particular; they are more active when a critical mass of at least three women is in attendance. Gender-balanced boards are also more likely to replace underperforming CEOs and are particularly active during periods when CEOs are being replaced.

Keywords: boards of directors, gender, active boards, firm performance

JEL Classification: D71, D73, G30, J01, J16, L21, M10

Suggested Citation

Schwartz-Ziv, Miriam, Gender and Board Activeness: The Role of a Critical Mass (July 14, 2015). Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis (JFQA), Forthcoming, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1868033 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1868033

Miriam Schwartz-Ziv (Contact Author)

Hebrew University of Jerusalem - Department of Finance and Banking ( email )

Mount Scopus
Jerusalem, 91905
Israel

ECGI (European Corporate Governance Institute) ( email )

c/o the Royal Academies of Belgium
Rue Ducale 1 Hertogsstraat
1000 Brussels
Belgium

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
1,194
Abstract Views
10,330
Rank
17,136
PlumX Metrics