Purpose This study aims to elucidate the relationship between women's participation on the board of directors and the company's financial performance in a sample of 45 Colombian companies listed on the Colombia Stock Exchange (CSE) (Bolsa de Valores de Colombia). Design/methodology/approach Using 50,214 financial records of 45 companies listed on the CSE during 2008–2016, the authors performed panel data regressions to explore the relationship between the measures of gender diversity on boards and the impact on corporate financial performance. Findings The authors show that the participation and presence of at least one woman on the board of directors are positively associated with firm financial performance as measured by return on equity (ROE), but not as measured by Tobin’s Q. This second indicator is positively associated with firm financial performance when there are at least three female directors on boards of 10 or more individuals. Practical implications The findings also provide evidence supporting the development of managerial and organizational mechanisms that strengthen female presence at the highest level of governance. Originality/value The study demonstrates that female presence on boards has a positive impact on firms’ financial performance, but the degree of diversity impacts differently ROE and Tobin’s Q. These findings are based on a study of an emerging economy in Latin America, and data on similar economies are scarce.

Objective/context: The article aims to analyze child recruitment as a form of human trafficking. Beyond the theoretical perspectives that focus on security or rights, it addresses the topic as a form of unfree labor. By means of a case study focused on child recruitment by right-wing paramilitary groups in Colombia, the paper analyzes how children entered and exited illegal armed groups, the functions they performed, and the exploitation they endured. The research argues that child recruitment operates as a large-scale labor-market uptake in the wartime social order, where the “employers” are paramilitary groups, and the labor force, in part, consists of children and adolescents. Methodology: This case study relies on different sources of information: a database on child recruitment provided by the special Justice and Peace Unit of the Colombian Attorney General’s Office (989 cases between 1981 and 2005), sentences of Peace and Justice, testimonials given by victims in judicial processes, and semi-structured interviews with different actors. Conclusions: The paper shows that child recruitment as a form of trafficking is functional to wartime social order in contexts of poverty and inequality. There is demand and supply; thus, both girls and boys, who worked as soldiers, are not only victims but also agents that make decisions in challenging conditions. Therefore, if the socioeconomic options for these children, even after their demobilization from the armed group, are still a choice between bad and worse, joining a violent (no longer “armed” but “criminal”) group will remain a feasible alternative. Originality: The article contributes to the academic literature on a recent topic, such as the overlapping between child recruitment and human trafficking in armed conflict and post-conflict situations. It also contributes to the literature on “unfree labor,” as the study focuses on an actor (illegal armed groups) that has not been analyzed until now. Finally, the research demonstrates the limits of understanding human trafficking (and child recruitment as a form of trafficking) as a problem of security or rights entitlement. It highlights the analytical and political advantages of categories such as “unfree labor” to provide effective solutions for the prevention and reintegration of child soldiers.