The effects of gender diversity in boards of directors on the number of female managers promoted

Abstract

PurposeThis study elaborates on the process through which gender-diverse boards of directors increase representation of females in management positions. This study draws on the gender spillover effect to examine whether gender diversity on boards of directors significantly influences the number of women promoted to managerial positions. The authors also employ implicit quota theory to examine the interaction effects of female board directors and their related strategies to target female customers as a source of female talent on the promotion numbers of female managers.Design/methodology/approachThe authors draw from female manager panel data surveyed and gathered by the Korean Women Development Institute (KWDI), a Korean government-sponsored research institution, for the period 2008–2014. The total sample, comprising 5 biannual waves, includes 906 Korean companies across four wage rates. The authors apply zero-inflated negative binomial regression analyses to examine the effects of gender diversity on board director positions and its interactions with strategies targeting female markets on the number of female managerial promotions.FindingsThe authors find that gender diversity on boards of directors is positively related to the number of female managers promoted. Furthermore, in corporations where gender is not relevant to firms' strategy and decision-making, broader gender diversity increases the number of female managers promoted at lower- but not higher-level positions.Originality/valueThe current study demonstrates the complex role of gender diversity in board director positions in initiating and promoting the career development of female managers. On the one hand, gender diversity in board director positions has spillover effects on women's representation in management positions. On the other hand, female board directors impede the career progress of senior female managers to maintain their status in quotas when the female market is not critical to firms' competitiveness. Therefore, it is crucial to integrate two different concepts about gender diversity—the gender spillover effect and implicit quota theory—that elaborate on the effects of gender diversity in board director positions on female manager promotion numbers.

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“…In their view, public attention should now shift from non-executive directors to executive directors and the development of management talent among women (Barnes, Lewis, Yarker, Whiley, 2019). Kim and Kim (2023) concluded, based on the Korean experience, that a greater female presence on company boards promotes a bigger share of women executives, but also blocks other women aspiring to the business board(Kim, Kim, 2023). Similar findings have emerged from UK-based research.…”

Do women have a say? A moderated mediation model's influence on the leverage policy toward corporate sustainable growth

“…Evidence indicates a connection between Corporate Governance's internal control mechanisms led by women's boards and capital structure in developed countries, with these efforts still relatively minimal in developing markets (Zaid et al, 2020). Women directors' influence extends to social performance ( € Oberg, 2021), with positive impacts noted in family companies in France (Mnif and Cherif, 2020), Japanese companies (Kubo and Nguyen, 2021), Italian banking firms (Mazzotta and Ferraro, 2020), China (Alkebsee et al, 2021), and Korea (Kim and Kim, 2023). Sraieb and Akin (2021) find evidence linking female directors to positive correlations with corporate environmental performance.…”

“…Women directors' influence extends to social performance (Öberg, 2021), with positive impacts noted in family companies in France (Mnif and Cherif, 2020), Japanese companies (Kubo and Nguyen, 2021), Italian banking firms (Mazzotta and Ferraro, 2020), China (Alkebsee et al. , 2021), and Korea (Kim and Kim, 2023). Sraieb and Akin (2021) find evidence linking female directors to positive correlations with corporate environmental performance.…”