Social Trust and Female Board Representation: Evidence from China

Baoyin Qiu (), Haohan Ren (), Jingjing Zuo () and Bo Cheng ()
Additional contact information
Baoyin Qiu: Hangzhou Dianzi University
Haohan Ren: Fudan University
Jingjing Zuo: University of International Business and Economics
Bo Cheng: Nanjing Audit University

Journal of Business Ethics, 2023, vol. 188, issue 1, No 11, 187-204

Abstract: Abstract The underrepresentation of females on corporate boards is an important ethical issue that raises serious concerns about gender equality in senior management teams. Relying on a large sample of public firms from the Chinese market, we examine how social trust affects female board representation. We find that female board representation has a positive and significant relation with social trust. The effect is more pronounced in regions with a higher male-to-female sex ratio at birth, lower levels of education, lower GDP per capita, and in nonfamily firms. We also find that higher social trust is more likely to increase the number of non-independent female directors rather than independent ones. Further analyses show that increased female board representation is an important channel through which social trust improves corporate ESG ratings. Overall, our study suggests that social trust contributes positively to gender diversity in corporate management.

Keywords: Social trust; Female directors; Gender discrimination; ESG ratings (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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DOI: 10.1007/s10551-022-05298-5

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