Newswise — Research by Kris Byron, PhD, department chair and associate professor of management at the Martin J. Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University, examines female board representation’s effect on firm financial performance. The paper, titled “Women on Boards and Firm Financial Performance: A Meta-Analysis,” was recently accepted for publication in the Academy of Management Journal. The co-author was Corinne Post (Lehigh University). By aggregating results from 140 studies examining the relationship between firms’ financial performance and female board representation, Byron and Post found that having women on boards of directors is positively related to accounting returns. This relationship is more positive in countries that have stronger shareholder protections, which the researchers say could be due to the fact that shareholder protections can motivate boards to use the varied experience, knowledge and values each member brings to the board.
The results also suggest why this may be the case. Firms with more female directors tend to have boards that make stronger efforts to monitor the firms and to ensure that they are executing the right strategy.
The study also suggests that the societal context may determine how investors evaluate firms when they have female directors. In countries with high gender equality, there was a positive relationship between female board representation and market performance; in countries with low gender parity, a negative relationship. About the Whitman SchoolThe Martin J. Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University was established as the College of Business Administration in 1919. In 1920, it was only the 16th collegiate business school in the nation to be accredited by the AACSB. Today, the Whitman School of Management includes programs in accounting, entrepreneurship, finance, management, marketing, real estate, retail management and supply chain management. In any given year, the Whitman School is home to nearly 2,000 doctoral, graduate and undergraduate students.
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