Why Do Companies Choose Female CEOs?

Shuo Han, Weijun Cui, Jin Chen and Yu Fu
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Shuo Han: Business School, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing 210044, China
Weijun Cui: Business School, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing 210044, China
Jin Chen: School of Economics and Management, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100085, China
Yu Fu: Business School, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing 210044, China

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 15, 1-36

Abstract: For the career development of chief executive officers (CEOs), the existing literature lacks research from the perspectives of gender and the environment. Starting with the perspective of the environment, and through the adoption of the World Bank Survey Data on Chinese Enterprises and China’s Comprehensive Social Survey (CGSS), this paper addresses the question: “Why do companies choose female CEOs?” The analysis examines 15 aspects, including enterprise scale, age, industry, owner, product market, market environment, city level, etc. The research findings are as follows. (1) The corporate environment has an impact on CEO gender, and there are differences in its nature and the degree of impact. Enterprise size, state-owned shareholding, radiation effect, market environment, and gender culture have a significant negative impact on female CEOs, while product features, industry characteristics, and female owners have a significantly positive impact on female CEOs. (2) In terms of the impact mechanism, the impact of the meso-environment on female CEOs is significantly adjusted by the macro-environment. This paper extends the existing theory from the perspectives of gender and the environment. Relevant policy recommendations are proposed to provide a theoretical basis for the government to promote women’s employment policies and provide effective suggestions for promoting women’s career development.

Keywords: female CEOs; environment; regulating effect; gender culture (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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