Women on boards in finance and STEM industries

Renee Adams and Tom Kirchmaier ()

LSE Research Online Documents on Economics from London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library

Abstract: We document that women are less represented on corporate boards in Finance and more traditional STEM industry sectors. Even after controlling for differences in firm and country characteristics, average diversity in these sectors is 24% lower than the mean. Our findings suggest that well-documented gender differences in STEM university enrolments and occupations have long-term consequences for female business leadership. The leadership gap in Finance and STEM may be difficult to eliminate using blanket boardroom diversity policies. Diversity policies are also likely to have a different impact on firms in these sectors than in non-STEM sectors.

JEL-codes: G34 G38 I23 J16 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016-05-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cfn
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (40)

Published in American Economic Review, 1, May, 2016, 106(5), pp. 1-6. ISSN: 0002-8282

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Journal Article: Women on Boards in Finance and STEM Industries (2016)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ehl:lserod:65725

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