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This paper focuses on gender diversity on the boards of Spanish agricultural cooperatives. Specifically, it examines the effect that gender diversity on the board exerts on returns, debt level, and economic risk. Cooperatives differ significantly from investor-owned firms because cooperative members are producers, agents, and customers of the cooperatives. In Spain, there is an ongoing debate about the importance of women in business management. Spain is also a pioneer in terms of enacting specific legislation for the social economy. The sample examined includes 672 agricultural cooperatives. The results show that firms with greater female representation on their boards have higher returns and operational risk and lower levels of debt. [EconLit Classifications: J16, J54, Q13].

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PurposeThe construction industry has traditionally been a male-dominated economic sector. Barely 10% of managers are women. On the other hand, this sector is considered an engine of the economy. For these reasons, it is important to examine the influence of women CEOs on financial variables of firms in the construction industry.Design/methodology/approachThe empirical study is carried out using a sample from the Iberian Balance Sheet Analysis System record (“Sistema de Análisis de Balances Ibérico”, SABI). The sample includes 8,492 Spanish companies from the construction sector. The methodology employed is a three-stage least squares (3SLS) analysis. This methodology controls for the endogeneity of explanatory variables. It is employed in accordance with the peculiar characteristics of the sample, which includes data for only one year.FindingsThe results show that firms with a woman CEO have a lower level of debt, whatever the terms of the maturity of the debt are. In contrast to most previous evidence, firms managed by women are found to be less profitable.Originality/valueThe paper gives evidence of the influence of the CEO's gender on the performance (return and risk) of a firm. It provides original empirical evidence for the male-dominated construction sector. An extensive search identified no literature in which the researchers had focused on the construction industry.