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This article examines the debate within corporate governance about the appointment of female non‐executive directors (NEDs). The first part tracks the diversity story that corporate governance tells about itself from the Cadbury Report (1992) to the Davies Report (2011). The second sets out the evidence used to support the argument that female appointments enhance profits and corporate profile. The third part presents the authors' empirical analysis of FTSE 100 companies and female nonexecutive board membership, and concludes that there is little evidence that companies with female board membership display different characteristics from those without. Industry sector emerges as a significant factor in female appointments. The idea that women should be appointed to boards to increase corporate profitability and profile is not strongly supported by this analysis. A social justice argument based upon the right of woman to equal economic participation opportunities provides a much superior articulation of the need for boardroom diversity.

were the prime movers in creating a model of contractual relations that went beyond the confines of the formal legal model that defined contract enforceability. The work of both of them has been influential even though it has suffered from many misdescriptions along the way. In this article I map their respective contributions and explain the differences between their visions of contract. I then add a third dimension: the possibilities for a new vision of contract and contractual relations raised by blockchain.

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