The Influence Of Gender On Spanish Boards Of Directors: An Empirical Analysis

Abstract

Many studies have examined the impact of various characteristics of the board of directors on firm value. However, little attention has been paid to the impact of female board membership on firm value, with the exception of a number of U.S. studies. The aim of this paper is to investigate this issue in a specific context - the Spanish market. We find that the stock market reacts positively to the announcement of a female board appointment, using a non-parametric test, though the result is inconclusive when a parametric test is used. We also find an insignificant relationship between the presence and percentage of women on the board, and firm value, and we find that the opposite causal relationship is also insignificant.