Women in Institutional Boards and their Influence on Board Effectiveness.

Abstract

In this study it shows that female directors have a significant impact on board inputs and educational institution’s outcomes. From the literature, we find that female directors have better attendance records than male directors, male directors have fewer attendance problems the more gender-diverse the board is, and women are more likely to join monitoring committees. In this paper we open the “black box” of board behavior by drawing upon theories of gender differences and group effectiveness. The results suggest that gender-diverse boards allocate more effort to monitoring, women directors is positively associated with board strategic control. In addition, there are positive effects of women directors on board effectiveness as mediated through increased board development activities and decreased level of conflict. Policy Implications: Women’s ability to make a contribution to the board may be attributable to their different leadership styles. Their presence seems to increase board effectiveness through reducing the level of conflict and ensuring high quality of board development activities.