Do women on board of directors have an impact on corporate governance quality and firm performance? A literature review

Women on board of directors (WOBD) should contribute to a sustainable strategic management with regard to the increased stakeholder demand on social and environmental issues. This literature review evaluates 200 empirical research studies on the impact of WOBD on corporate governance quality and firm performance. We briefly introduce the theoretical and empirical WOBD framework. This is followed by a discussion of WOBD effectiveness which aims to enhance corporate governance quality, and is divided into the following areas: 1) financial reporting; 2) corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting; 3) audit; 4) corporate philanthropy. We will then evaluate the impact of WOBD on; 5) financial performance; 6) CSR performance. Furthermore, we will summarise the key findings in each area, and provide a description of the analysed proxies for corporate governance quality and firm performance. Finally, we will discuss the limitations of the studies and give useful recommendations for future empirical research activities in this topic.