Corporate governance and women: an empirical study of top and middle women managers in the Lebanese banking sector

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to look at how recent corporate scandals have translated into heightened interest in understanding various facets of corporate governance, notably the effectiveness of boards of directors and the composition of boards with particular attention to the gender dimension. In this context, the current study gauges the perceptions of Lebanese women managers regarding corporate governance issues pertaining to board effectiveness, roles and responsibilities and the benefits of female representation on boards. Design/methodology/approach The approach takes the form of a literature review and survey type questionnaire deriving from the literature. The questionnaire was administered to a sample of 61 top and middle level women managers, drawn from the context of 12 different banks in the Lebanese context. Findings The findings suggest that Lebanese women managers consider current board performance as not being satisfactory, that women are important board member candidates and that the low representation of women on boards in Lebanon is related to glass ceiling type impediments. They also believed that women board representation can reflect positively on the status of women at work and that government intervention is needed to level the playing field for women in management and at the boardroom level. Originality/value The value added of this research is to gauge Lebanese women's perceptions regarding corporate governance issues and the gender dimension, which is of direct relevance/interest to them. Moreover, these expressed perceptions are compared with what is reported in the literature, suggesting overall congruence between the experiences/perceptions of women in various contexts.