Empowering Women: The Role of Emancipative Forces in Board Gender Diversity

Brieger, Steven A.; Francœur, Claude; Welzel, Christian; Ben‐Amar, Walid

doi:10.1007/s10551-017-3489-3

Cited by 137 publications

(148 citation statements)

References 80 publications

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“…Across the world, women remain a minority on corporate boards (Brieger et al 2019;Carrasco et al 2015;Grosvold et al 2016). While a growing body of studies indicates some positive effects of gender-diverse boards on company performance, it cannot be denied that, overall, the empirical evidence to date is inconclusive (for overviews see Adams et al 2015;Kirsch 2017;Post and Byron 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Carrot or the Stick: Self-Regulation for Gender-Diverse Boards via Codes of Good Governance

2019

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Scholars have emphasized the potential of self-regulation, realized through 'codes of good governance', to improve gender diversity on boards. Yet, unconvinced of the effectiveness of this self-regulation, many regulators have implemented mandatory quota laws. Our study sheds light on this dilemma. Seeking to broaden our conceptual knowledge of how such 'codes' work in the specific case of gender diversity on boards, we ask: Under which conditions is self-regulation via voluntary principles of good governance effective? Expanding recent institutional-theory perspectives from the literature of women on boards, we show that, in the case of Austria, self-regulation via code recommendations is ineffective unless supported by additional forces. The primary reason for this, we argue, is that nominators do not expect benefits from gender-diverse boards. Furthermore, non-compliant companies face little pressure to change due to the small number of companies that have already adopted respective code recommendations. We identify two potential alternatives to boost the effectiveness of voluntary self-regulation for gender-diverse boards: First, the introduction of concrete targets for female representation and the public monitoring of fulfillment; and, second, the establishment of a credible threat that mandatory quotas will be imposed if diversity goals are not achieved. Drawing on longitudinal data from 2006 to 2016 on listed and state-owned companies in Austria, we give an empirical account of the conditions that assure effective self-regulation. Arguing that codes suffer from what we call 'opportunity bias', we conclude that political goals (such as gender equality) based on ethical rather than instrumental considerations are unlikely to be effectively implemented solely by codes of good governance.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Carrot or the Stick: Self-Regulation for Gender-Diverse Boards via Codes of Good Governance

2019

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“…2018. Secondly, it contributes to studies in management that have analyzed the importance of management gender in contexts other than microfinance (Adams and Ferreira 2009, Krishnan and Park 2005, García-Meca et al 2015, Brieger et al 2017, Moreno-Gómez et al 2018. Our results show that female managers and female loan officers improve MFIs' financial performance, but the presence of female board members does not have an effect.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 57%

Female Advantage? Management and Financial Performance in Microfinance

Gudjonsson

Kristinsson

Gylfason

et al. 2020

Business: Theory and Practice

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The purpose of the article is to investigate whether female presence in microfinance institutions’ management team, i.e. board members, managers and loan officers, will improve their financial performance. We combine financial data on MFIs that is available from the MIX Market database with original data on the gender composition of MFIs’ management team, who include board members, managers and loan officers. This original dataset of 223 MFIs is analyzed using Logit-Tobit regression models with return on assets (ROA) as the dependent variable and proportion of female board members, female loan officers and female managers as the main independent variables. We find that a higher proportion of female managers and female loan officers improve financial performance in microfinance, while a higher proportion of female board members does not. Our results indicate that a major contributor to the financial sustainability of microfinance institutions is having a higher rate of women in vital decision-making roles, especially lower level management positions.

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“…While traditionally women's roles were restricted to home and family care-giving responsibilities, women benefit increasingly from gender-egalitarian conditions today, even in traditional societies as Saudi Arabia. Women's empowerment is essential, not only for women themselves but also for the reinforcement of peace, tolerance, security, prosperity, and sustainability (Sen 2001;Klasen 2002;Inglehart and Norris 2003;Hudson et al 2014;Brieger et al 2017).…”

Section: The Interplay Of Human Empowerment Gender and Prosocialitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…First, country-level manifestations of the four human empowerment forcesmeasured by a human empowerment index-lift entrepreneurs' willingness to choose a social orientation for their business. Our second step focuses on women's roles in business as women's empowerment is essential for women themselves as well as the development of peace, security, prosperity, sustainability, and democracy (Sen 2001;Klasen 2002;Inglehart and Norris 2003;Hudson et al 2014;Brieger et al 2017). In doing this, we hypothesize that human empowerment reinforces the gender effect on prosociality.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prosociality in Business: A Human Empowerment Framework

et al. 2018

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This study introduces a human empowerment framework to better understand why some businesses are more socially oriented than others in their policies and activities. Building on Welzel's theory of emancipation, we argue that human empowerment-comprised of four components: action resources, emancipative values, social movement activity, and civic entitlements-enables, motivates, and entitles individuals to pursue social goals for their businesses. Using a sample of over 15,000 entrepreneurs from 43 countries, we report strong empirical evidence for two ecological effects of the framework components on prosociality. We find that human empowerment (1) lifts entrepreneurs' willingness to choose a social orientation for their business, and (2) reinforces the gender effect on prosociality in business activity. We discuss the human empowerment framework's added value in understanding how modernization processes fully leverage the potential of social business activities for societies.

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Empowering Women: The Role of Emancipative Forces in Board Gender Diversity

Cited by 137 publications

References 80 publications

The Carrot or the Stick: Self-Regulation for Gender-Diverse Boards via Codes of Good Governance

The Carrot or the Stick: Self-Regulation for Gender-Diverse Boards via Codes of Good Governance

Female Advantage? Management and Financial Performance in Microfinance

Prosociality in Business: A Human Empowerment Framework

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