Gender diversity on managing boards

Objective

The GEMBOARD project aims to explore the effects of gender diversity in top management teams, specifically focusing on the role of women in CFO positions, within the context of German listed companies. Despite the EU directive and national laws in Germany promoting gender balance on company boards, women in top management positions remain under-represented. Prior studies suggest that gender diversity in leadership influences company performance, financial reporting, and decision-making processes, though empirical evidence has been mixed. This project seeks to address these ambiguities by examining the impact of female representation in upper echelons on various dimensions of company performance, including stock prices and forecasting behaviour. Based on longitudinal data and advanced research methods such as difference-in-difference analyses, this study will provide valuable insights into how gender diversity in corporate boards unfolds over time, particularly in response to evolving legal frameworks. This research will contribute to understanding the effectiveness of the EU directive and German legislation in promoting gender balance and its implications for corporate governance and performance, specifically in a low-discretion environment like Germany. The GEMBOARD project, which will last 24 months, will be conducted at the Department of Accounting of the Copenhagen Business School (CBS), under the supervision of Professor Bjrn Jrgensen. Building on an existing database built by the applicant, the project duration will be used for some complementary data collection, and focus on data analysis and maturing findings into research publications. GEMBOARD results will be disseminated and communicated to a wide audience, including the academic community, policy makers and the general public.