Women in Top Corporate Positions and the Labor Share: Evidence from European Firms

Sebastian Zalas

No 109, GRAPE Working Papers from GRAPE Group for Research in Applied Economics

Abstract: The paper studies the representation of women in top corporate positions and the workers’ share of firms’ income. Using a large panel of European firms and identification from a shift–share instrument, the author estimates the effect of gender board diversity on the labor share. In the preferred specification, a 10 percentage point increase in gender board diversity is associated with a 0.75 percentage point rise in the labor share. The effect is stronger in services, in smaller firms, and among firms with persistently low productivity. A counterfactual analysis demonstrates a high semi-elasticity of employment as the driving mechanism behind these findings.

Keywords: gender board diversity; labor share; corporate governance; female leadership (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D33 G34 J16 J39 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 35 pages
Date: 2025
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-lab
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:fme:wpaper:109

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