Women on boards and CEO pay-performance link

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the crucial question of whether gender diversity in boardroom is associated with CEO pay and CEO pay-performance link. Design/methodology/approach The authors used the data of companies listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange for a sample consisting of KSE-100 index companies for the period of five years. The authors used the ordinary least square regression technique to test the developed hypotheses. The authors also used the two-step Heckman selection model, two-stage least square regression and propensity score matching method to control the problem of endogeneity. Findings The authors find reliable evidence of a negative association between gender diversity and CEO pay and of board gender diversity’s strengthening the relationship between CEO pay and firm performance. The authors also find that women director are more effective in setting the optimal contract in non-family-owned firms and firms with dispersed ownership structure as compared to family-owned firms and firms with concentrated ownership structure. Moreover, results also reflect that the influence of board diversity on both CEO pay and CEO pay-performance link is stronger when gender diversity goes beyond tokenism. Practical implications The findings have implications in terms of providing the basis for policy makers to accord the same level of importance to gender diversity in the boardroom as well as contributing to the current debate on the desirability of mandating or recommending gender diversity on boardrooms. Originality/value This study is among the few studies which investigate the moderating role of boardroom gender diversity on the CEO pay-performance link. In addition, this study contributes to the institutional theory by providing the empirical evidence that the effect boardroom gender diversity on CEO pay and CEO pay-performance link varies by type of ownership.

Board Gender Diversity and Dividend Policy in Chinese Listed Firms

“…Self-selection bias may be another possible issue in the validity of our least squares outcomes. This posits that heterogeneous boards and non-heterogeneous boards have different characteristics, and that it is possible that, due to these characteristics, firms pay a higher dividend, instead of female directors' presence on the board (Usman et al, 2019). To resolve this problem, we followed the literature (Chen et al, 2017;Faccio et al, 2016;Liu, 2018) and employed PSM.…”

Female CEO succession and audit fees: evidence from China

“…These prescriptive reforms and regulations are driven by theoretical and empirical evidence, which suggests that female leadership in top management enhances the quality of the decision-making process. For instance, empirical studies have shown that the presence of women in top management is associated with higher auditing quality (Aldamen et al , 2018; Lai et al , 2017; Harjoto et al , 2015; Huang et al , 2014), less financial misreporting (Gupta et al , 2020; Garcia-Sanchez et al , 2017; Liu et al , 2016), better corporate performance (Terjesen et al , 2016; Post and Byron, 2015), higher monitoring intensity (Zalata et al , 2019; Gull et al , 2018; Usman et al , 2018; 2019a, 2021), lower cost of debt (Usman et al , 2019b, 2019c) lower audit fee (Alkebsee et al , 2021) and fewer acquisitions (Chen et al , 2016; Huang and Kisgen, 2013). Despite the positive impact of female leadership on firm outcomes, the consideration of female CEO aspirants in succession planning remains low.…”

Community norms and corporate philanthropy: the moderating role of women on board of directors

“…A core idea of upper echelon theory is that directors differ cognitively, which then influences company behaviors and outcomes (Hambrick, 2007; Hambrick and Mason, 1984). Some cognitive differences may be rooted on gender, and researchers have recognized that the gender diversity on board of directors (BODs) greatly influences corporate behavior (Usman et al. , 2019).…”

“…A core idea of upper echelon theory is that directors differ cognitively, which then influences company behaviors and outcomes (Hambrick, 2007;Hambrick and Mason, 1984). Some cognitive differences may be rooted on gender, and researchers have recognized that the gender diversity on board of directors (BODs) greatly influences corporate behavior (Usman et al, 2019). For example, the previous studies found that women tend to be more sensitive, more compassionate and more cautious than men, which have more likely led to more ethics-oriented and discreet behavior (Gilligan, 1982).…”