Interactive Catalogue

Gender diversity on corporate boards: an empirical investigation of Italian listed companies

Literature Item

Author Information:

Name: Silvia Solimene, Daniela Coluccia, Stefano Fontana

Email: None

Website: https://www.uniroma1.it/en/pagina-strutturale/home

Abstract:

In recent years, there has been a growing consensus that gender diversity could improve the economic and social performance of companies—although progress has been painfully slow. In Italy, Law n. 120/2011 has required that since 2012 the composition of corporate boards must comprise at least 1/5 women and, from 2015, 1/3 women. Here, the primary aim of this study was to analize the proportion and the progression of female directors on the boards of Italian companies over the period between 2009–2014, among a sample of 60 companies listed on the Milan Stock Exchange. Additionally it was studied the characteristics of the women on the companies’ boards, in order to assemble a typical profile. To do this, it was verified the boards’ compositions, the number of female directors, women’s power on the boards and their levels of education. The results confirm that Italian law has produced significant effects on the composition of corporate boards. Moreover, it was found that female directors are generally of Italian ethnic origin and have high levels of education, with a master’s, and sometimes, post-master’s degree. Furthermore, female directors are more likely to be professional figures with experience—the percentages of female directors with professional qualifications as well as the percentage of female directors on boards of other companies have consistently increased during the period mentioned. The findings of this study provide a descriptive analysis of female directors during the period between 2009–2014, thereby presenting a picture of gender equality in the Italian context.

Keywords:

Women representation, Corporate boards, stakeholder diversity

Dates:

Jan. 24, 2017 - None

Source Specificity:

None, None, None

Website:

https://www.nature.com/articles/palcomms2016109

Power Domains:

Economic

Methods Tools:

Competence development, Awareness-raising, Monitoring

Country:

IT

City:

None

Implementation Scale:

national

Language:

English

Other Links:

DOI: 10.1057/palcomms.2016.109