An Empirical Investigation into Gender Diversity and Firm Performance

This research paper investigates the relationship between gender diversity on firm boards and financial performance within the United Kingdom, focusing on the top sixty FTSE 100 companies listed on the London Stock Exchange from 2015 to 2017. The study aims to determine the impact of gender diversity on firm performance, measured by Return on Equity (ROE), Return on Assets (ROA), and Tobin's Q. The paper begins with an introduction and background, highlighting the underrepresentation of women on corporate boards and its potential impact. It then reviews existing literature on corporate governance, firm performance, and the specific relationship between gender diversity and financial outcomes. The methodology section outlines the approach used to analyze the data. The study explores the impact of board gender diversity on financial performance, using Return on Assets (ROA), Return on Equity (ROE) and Tobin’s Q as financial performance measures. The findings are then discussed, interpreting the results and their significance, before concluding with a summary of the main arguments and evidence supporting the conclusions. The paper addresses the gap in research regarding the impact of female directors on firm performance, aiming to provide insights into whether increased gender diversity leads to improved financial outcomes.

Running head: RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GENDER DIVERSITY AND FIRM
PERFORMANCE
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GENDER DIVERSITY AND FIRM PERFORMANCE
Name of Student:
Name of University:
Author Note:

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Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction....................................................................................................................2
1.1 Introduction............................................................................................................................2
1.2 Background of the study........................................................................................................3
1.3 Aims and objectives of the study...........................................................................................4
1.4 Problem Statement.................................................................................................................4
1.5 Research Questions................................................................................................................5
1.6 Scope of the research.............................................................................................................5
Chapter 2: Literature Review...........................................................................................................8
2.1 Mechanism of corporate governance.....................................................................................8
2.2 Performance of firm.............................................................................................................11
2.3 Gender diversity with firm performance.............................................................................14
References......................................................................................................................................17

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Chapter 1: Introduction
1.1 Introduction
The current paper deals in understanding the relationship between gender diversity on firm’s
boards and performance under the setting of United Kingdom. According to several reports, the
number of corporate bond seats held by men is lesser than that of women. Several reports are
established under this issue. Female directors comprise of 8.7 percent of the total average of
directors in countries like Australia, Japan, Canada and Europe (Al-Mamun et al. 2013). These
countries serve as the major financial hubs in the world, although the rate of women holding the
corporate board eats is comparatively lower.
Branson collected samples from corporate houses regarding the Equal Opportunity of
Women in the Workplace Agency (EOWA). The sample had only one female director among the
large number of firms that has been used in the research (Labelle, Francoeur and Lakhal 2015).
This low rate of participation or lack of female directors in the corporate world has been a
critical issue in corporate governance. The issue received significant attention from the
proponents of board diversity. According to several experts and business analysts, gender
diversity has positively affected the performance of businesses. Demographic diversity had a
positive impact on the firm in terms of revenue and productivity. According to Lückerath-Rovers
(2013), gender diversity can bring about positive returns to the firm and improve its financial
strength.

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1.2 Background of the study
EOWA published a report in 2006, by using data from 200 large and top performing
companies in Europe. As per the report, about 62 percent of the big European companies had
only single female directors who were part of the board (Solakoglu and Demir 2016). The
number was much lower in 2004, which was about 30 percent. This shows that number of single
female directors had significantly from 2004 to 2006. Newer theories were made on the
principles of corporate governance in United Kingdom. In the recent years, companies are
putting more focus on the issue of lower female board members. They are trying to increase the
percentage of female directors in the companies in order to improve the performance of the
companies (Al-Mamun et al. 2013). There has been a growing pressure on the companies in the
past few years. It has been a growing controversy in several businesses whether gender diversity
in boards can positively affect the organizations and leads to effective growth.
The current research will focus on the relation between gender equality and firm
performance. To explore the relationship between firm performance and gender equality, the
mechanism of internal and external corporate governance has been effectively used. This is done
by estimating the Tobin’s Q measurement for the establishment of statistical results and the
Return on Asset (ROA). The paper will be based on the work done by other people in this
particular field (Labelle, Francoeur and Lakhal 2015). The paper will be in line with the papers
done by other researchers that has efficiently focused on ethnic and gender diversity and its
reasonable impacts on business performance with quality output. Thus, the research paper gives
an in-depth understanding of the issue.

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1.3 Aims and objectives of the study
The aim of the paper is to estimate the association between firm performance and gender
diversity under the setting of United Kingdom by using data from various authentic sources. This
is done by taking a sample of the top sixty FTSE 100 companies that is listed under the London
Stock Exchange for a period of three years, starting from 2015 (Pletzer et al. 2015). The
outcomes of these data sets are then analyzed in an effective manner.
The paper has three main objectives which are as follows:
 To investigate whether there exists a relationship between board diversity and
financial performance by taking the data from top sixty FTSE 100 companies as
per the Return on Equity (ROE)?
 To investigate the association between board diversity and its significant impact
on financial performance of the chosen companies that is estimated as measured
by the Return on Assets (ROA)?
 To investigate whether gender diversity affects the financial performance of the
top 60 FTSE 100 firms enlisted under the London Stock exchange as per the
Tobin’s Q measurement?
1.4 Problem Statement
The problem statement is one of the important areas in a research paper that acknowledges
the gap in the research area. It addresses the points that require further investigation for effective
outcomes. Research on the current issue did not provide definite answers that raises appropriate
questions about the issue of lower single female directors, which needs further investigation
(Reguera-Alvarado, de Fuentes and Laffarga 2017). Gender presentation in corporate firms has
been a serious issue that is actively faced all board members. The primary question is whether

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the inclusion of more female directions make any difference on the performance of firms (Green
and Homroy 2018). The purpose of the paper is to deal with the problem and to denote evidences
that establishes whether there is any change in firm performance or not.
1.5 Research Questions
The initial step in any research paper is the research question that enquires about the
concerned issue. These questions give an idea about the concerned issue that will be studied in
the paper. It guides the researcher for an affective thesis that highlights purpose of the paper
(Kakabadse et al. 2015). In order to estimate the relationship between gender diversity and firm
performance, several questions are aroused finds the gap:
 Does board gender diversity has any impact on the financial performance of the
performance of the sixty top companies under the FTSE 100 that is enlisted under the
London Stock Exchange as evaluated by Return on Equity (ROE)
 How does the board gender diversity effect the financial performance of the top sixty
enlisted companies on London Stock Exchange in terms of Return on Assets (ROA)
 Whether there is any positive or negative relationship between the financial performance
and diversity of board gender of the best sixty firms under FTSE 100 on London stock
Exchange as measured by Tobin’s Q
1.6 Scope of the research
The scope of the research is the way the paper needs to be presented. It addresses the
things that has to be covered in the research project. The scope demonstrates the content that will
be prepared by means of research for giving more satisfactory results and logical conclusions.
The research has been organized in five main chapters that is essential for a step by step analysis

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and provision of compelling results. The aims and objectives has been mentioned in the initial
phases of the paper.
The second part of the research addresses the theoretical framework of the gender
diversity firm performance. The empirical data will be based on the aims, objectives and problem
statement. The second aspect is proposed by doing a literature review of the previous papers
done on the same topic. Several variables are to be analyzed and propose the variable that will be
effective for the study of gender diversity on business performance (Sun, Zhu and Ye 2015).
Mixed results will be gathered from the empirical findings due to consideration of biggest sixty
companies enlisted under the London Stock Exchange (Kyaw, Olugbode and Petracci 2017). The
impacts will be described in detail in the section of literature review.
The purpose of literature review is to identify the gaps in research under the issue and
bring about the questionable enquiry. Main questions will be prepared from the review which is
crucial for further hypothesis. The variables needed in the determination of relationship between
firm performance and gender diversity are to be tested with the usage of three hypothesis such as
Tobin’s q, ROE and ROA respectively (García-Meca et al. 2015). Next to literature review
comes the methodology section that will provide a detailed description of the tested variables for
effective analysis. The section differentiates between the usage of controlled dependent and
independent variables for understanding the impact of gender diversification on firm’s growth.
The section of research methodology is followed by a section that comprise of the data
analysis, results and discussion where the data gathered from the methodology section is
analyzed for effective outcomes. The results of the findings are then discussed in an impressive
manners that solves the problem statement (Noland, Moran and Kotschwar 2016). There are
several methods of data conduction such as qualitative and quantitative with respect to primary

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and secondary data collection techniques. The discussion of the paper is done to interpret the
results and describe its significance with respect to aims. The problems regarding the research is
investigated in this section to give a new understanding of results established from study.
The research ends with a concluding paragraph that briefly summarizes the paper and
retain the main arguments. The section recapitulates the strengths of the main arguments with
respect to key purpose of the paper. It concludes whether there exists an association between
firm performance and gender diversity. It restates the evidences that supports the arguments.

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Chapter 2: Literature Review
This particular chapter mainly deals with the review of the literatures that are associated
with the research and that have to be highlighted within the area of study. FTSE 100 companies
have been considered which includes the investigation that highlights the effective performance
of the firm along with their diversity of gender. The importance of gender diversity has been
pointed out in the area and ensures the effective inductive approach for the overall performance
of the firms (Marinova, Plantenga and Remery 2016). The previous researcher also focused on
the literatures that deals with gender diversity and that are have to be analyzed with certain
aspects and discussed in the following part. The section also includes the theoretical framework
which highlights the theory that mainly aligns with the gender diversity in corporate governance
along with the overall performance of the firm. The gender diversity in the process of corporate
governance points out the relationship of the performances and interpreting the relationship
based on the previous evidences.
2.1 Mechanism of corporate governance
The code of corporate governance mainly encourages the FTSE 100 companies that are
listed in the London Stock Exchange along with delivering the products and services which
would be required by the people. The board of directors are required to be appointed for
highlighting the notable firm members along with delivering the overall duties by the directors
(Perryman, Fernando and Tripathy 2016). The code of the corporate governance mainly states
the number of board members that would be working for the company and would be based on
the specific research. Diversity of the gender is also to be highlighted as it points out the code of
the corporate governance that are associated with the performance and the mechanism. The study
mainly deals with the impact of the corporate governance along with the alternatives such as

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agency costs and financial performance of the FTSE 100 Companies. The results mainly
highlights the capital structures of the firm along with its characteristics that constitute with
corporate governance for listed firm in London Stock Exchange (Low, Roberts and Whiting
2015). Managerial ownership and managerial performance strongly associates with the cost of
the agency that is going to be incurred in normal course of operation. The empirical literature
mainly provides the insight that highlights the managerial operation along with the overall
compensation and it is required to be mitigated for solving the problems in their agency. The
interaction between the internal governance and growth opportunities of the firm is to be
highlighted for better analysis of gender diversity in the overall procedures of corporate
governance.
The determinants of the corporate governance mainly discloses the overall structure of
the board along with disclosure of the corporate firm. The problem of the traditional agency is
mainly manifested by the managers that mainly requires the corporate transparency ideas
(Shehata, Salhin and El-Helaly 2017). The behavior of the managers is also required to be
highlighted that points out the analysis of the theory for reducing the conflicts as per the overall
structures of the board. The existing theoretical orientation is required to be considered for the
significant factors of management that help in making certain decision that are strategic in
nature. The function of the effectiveness has been decreased with the help of corporate
governance that highlights the vital factors that associates with the firms. The decreasing
function of the effectiveness mainly monitors the management along with promoting the core
transparency (Ahmadi, Nakaa and Bouri 2018). The activity of the firm is required to be
promoted that highlights the disclosure practices and the empirical data is to be shown for
improving the overall process of corporate governance. The diversity of the board along with the

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disclosure mainly consist of the gender that includes relationship between the board size and
corporate disclosure. In UK, The FTSE 100 companies only have around 3 % of the women
directors and some of the heterogeneity composition on the board (Green and Homroy 2018).
The board reflects the society which points out the critical attribute about the board and that have
to be associated with the disclosure of the quality.
The code of corporate governance primarily empowers the FTSE 100 companies that are
recorded within the London Stock Exchange alongside conveying the items and administrations
which would be required by the individuals. The board of directors are required to be designated
for highlighting the eminent firm individuals in conjunction with conveying the in general
obligations by the chiefs (Conyon and He 2017). The code of the corporate administration
basically states the number of board individuals that would be working for the company and
would be based on the particular research. Differences of the gender is additionally to be
highlighted because it focuses out the code of the corporate administration that are related with
the execution and the instrument. The consideration primarily bargains with the effect of the
corporate administration alongside the options such as office costs and financial performance of
the FTSE 100 Companies. The results primarily highlights the capital structures of the firm
beside its characteristics that constitute with corporate administration for recorded firm in
London Stock Exchange (Pasaribu 2017). Administrative proprietorship and managerial
performance strongly associates with the taken a toll of the organization that is progressing to be
brought about in ordinary course of operation. The observational writing primarily gives the
understanding that highlights the administrative operation in conjunction with the generally
stipend and it is required to be moderated for tackling the issues in their organization. The
interaction between the inner administration and development openings of the firm is to be

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highlighted for superior investigation of gender differences within the generally strategies of
corporate administration.
The determinants of the corporate administration primarily uncovers the in general
structure of the board alongside divulgence of the corporate firm. The issue of the conventional
office is basically showed by the directors that basically requires the corporate ideas (Kakabadse
et al. 2015). The behavior of the supervisors is additionally required to be highlighted that
focuses out the examination of the hypothesis for decreasing the clashes as per the by and large
structures of the board. The existing hypothetical introduction is required to be considered for the
noteworthy components of administration that offer assistance in making certain choice that are
vital in nature. The work of the adequacy has been diminished with the assistance of corporate
administration that highlights the crucial components that partners with the firms. The
diminishing function of the adequacy basically screens the administration in conjunction with
advancing the center straightforwardness (Arun, Almahrog and Aribi 2015). The movement of
the firm is required to be advanced that highlights the divulgence hones and the observational
data is to be appeared for moving forward the in general prepare of corporate administration. The
differing qualities of the board at the side the divulgence primarily comprise of the sexual
orientation that incorporates relationship between the board measure and corporate divulgence.
2.2 Performance of firm
The performance of the firm might be the complex idea on which the performance solely
depends on and that have to be highlighted within their course of business. The overall
performance of the firm mainly implies on the process of manufacturing the products and
services that would be sold to the customers. The firm is also required to be viewed in the
broader context which includes the overall performance of the firm and that have to be based on

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the operations along with assessing the effective management (Haque 2017). It is also important
to measure the overall performance of the firm and that have to be assessed with the
organizational context for better outcome from the business. The operation of the firm is
effective and that is required to be completed by the help of more positive form. It is also vital
for the company to consider the financial health of the company which act as the indicator for the
investors and the stakeholders of the business firm. The financial performance of the firm is also
to be highlighted as per their performance and allows to take decision whether to invest or not
(Terjesen, Couto and Francisco 2016). The contemporary business performances includes the
integral part that points out the business environment and their business activities throughout
their normal course of business. Generally, investors are ready to invest in their funds in an
organization which includes the positive marketing performance and that have to be highlighted
within their performance. It also indicates the problem that are associated with the development
of the market and their performance is also to be included with their normal course of business.
Performance of the firm is measured by analyzing their financial statement that are
prepared by the management. In financial poor companies, investors are not likely to invest their
funds as they might not get the return on investment after a certain period of time (Sila, Gonzalez
and Hagendorff 2016). This also focuses on the competitive advantage of the firm as it highlights
the competitive position of the company in the targeted market. It is the main motive of any
organization to take care of their financial health within a financial year. The cost that are
incurred by the company mainly points out the advantage to gain out the products and services to
be assessed. The competitive position of the firm is also to be highlighted on the sustainable
progress of the company which includes the effective progress and development within the
business process. Moreover, the limitability of the firm includes its protection that are required to

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be associated with the uniqueness of the products that are produced by the firm (Liao, Luo and
Tang 2015). It also includes the positive protection of intellectual property that are going to be
helpful for the firm in future years.
The execution of the firm can be the complex idea on which the execution exclusively
depends on which need to be highlighted inside their course of trade. The in general execution of
the firm mainly infers on the method of fabricating the items and administrations that would be
sold to the clients (Dabor et al. 2015). The firm is additionally required to be viewed within the
broader setting which incorporates the overall performance of the firm which got to be based on
the operations together with evaluating the viable administration. It is additionally critical to
degree the in general execution of the firm which ought to be surveyed with the organizational
setting for superior result from the trade. The operation of the firm is successful which is
required to be completed by the assistance of more positive shape (Bennouri et al. 2018). It is
additionally crucial for the company to consider the financial health of the company which act as
the pointer for the speculators and the partners of the business firm. The monetary performance
of the firm is additionally to be highlighted as per their execution and permits to require choice
whether to contribute or not.
The modern trade exhibitions incorporates the indispensably portion that focuses out the
commerce environment and their trade exercises all through their ordinary course of trade. For
the most part, financial specialists are prepared to contribute in their funds in an organization
which incorporates the positive showcasing execution which got to be highlighted inside their
execution (Nzulwa and Wagana 2017). It too demonstrates the issue that are related with the
advancement of the policy and their execution is additionally to be included with their typical
course of trade. Execution of the firm is measured by analyzing their money related articulation

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that are arranged by the administration. In financial poor companies, financial specialists are not
likely to contribute their stores as they might not get the return on speculation after a certain
period of time. This too centers on the competitive advantage of the firm because it highlights
the competitive position of the company within the focused on advertise (Velte 2018). It is the
most thought process of any organization to require care of their financial health inside a
financial year. The fetched that are caused by the company primarily focuses out the advantage
to gain out the items and administrations to be surveyed. The competitive position of the firm is
additionally to be highlighted on the economical advance of the company which incorporates the
viable advance and advancement inside the business process (Al-Shaer and Zaman 2016).
Besides, the limitability of the firm incorporates its assurance that are required to be related with
the uniqueness of the items that are created by the firm.
2.3 Gender diversity with firm performance
Gender diversity and firm performance are directly associated with each other which
points outs out the activities of the female directors that are compared with male directors in a
firm. Motivation plays an important role and provides the positive signals to the prospective to
work for an organization which monitors all of the aspects (Frijns, Dodd and Cimerova 2016).
The first motivation that plays an important role that consist of various role of corporate
governance. The reforms in the UK mainly aims to incorporate the women with the corporate
boardroom for contributing towards the process of decision making. A recent report has also
pointed that the demonstration of gender diversity in the process of corporate governance help in
enhancing the skills along with experience and knowledge for better outcome. It can also be seen
that the empirical outcome mainly supports the different outcomes which have taken the place in
recent times (Green and Homroy 2018). The second motivation mainly highlights the various

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form of corporate governance reforms in UK and the process of appointment of women in a firm
might help to enhance the overall performance. The other motivation points out the various
corporate governance reforms that appoints women for voluntary board (Conyon and He 2017).
The nature of implementation of code of corporate governance points out the empirical study
which is worth in pursuing. The other motivation that plays an important role includes the issue
of corporate governance in different countries whose culture might be difference from each
other. For instance, European Commission has imposed certain quotas for imposing the female
representation that are associated with the firms (Arun, Almahrog and Aribi 2015). Lobbying
with the groups is also associated with the factors that affects the outcome of the performance
and that is required to be included with the process of selecting the women along with providing
empirical support.
Gender diversity and firm execution are straightforwardly related with each other which
focuses outs out the exercises of the female directors that are compared with male executives in a
firm. The financial firms of UK mainly consist of 78.4 % of GDP which would be included for
the immense economic contribution for the national development (Terjesen, Couto and Francisco
2016). The economic benefits also looks at the other factor that effects women along with the
overall performance of the firms. The investigation of the diversity mainly influences the
performance of the firm which are required to be estimated by the impacts that highlights the
crucial policy of the firms. Motivation plays a critical part and gives the positive signals to the
imminent to work for an organization which screens all of the angles (Sila, Gonzalez and
Hagendorff 2016). The primary motivation that plays a vital part that comprise of different part
of corporate governance. The changes within the UK primarily points to consolidate the women
with the corporate meeting room for contributing towards the method of choice making. A recent

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report has too pointed that the exhibit of gender diversity within the handle of corporate
administration offer assistance in upgrading the abilities together with involvement and
information for way better result. It can to be seen that the observational result primarily
underpins the distinctive results which have taken the put in later times (Liao, Luo and Tang
2015). Other empirical studies on the gender diversity along with the performance of the firm
points out the insignificant relationship. The performance of the women employees are also
required to be considered which highlights the relationship between the gender diversity and firm
performance.

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