Ruth Mateos de Cabo

Disentangling Discrimination on Spanish Boards of Directors

Manuscript Type: Empirical Research Question/Issue: This study seeks to find evidence of discrimination behind the scarce presence of women on Spanish boards of directors through factors within firms linked with different theories of discrimination. Research Findings/Insights: Using data on the boards of directors from the top 1,000 Spanish companies in 2005 and 2008, we identify some signals of discrimination. We find that women directors are scarcer in those sectors where there are fewer female managers or where the directors mainly draw on the firm’s executive staff. There is also evidence of the dynamics of Becker’s theory of discrimination, since time and competition seem to play in favor of a female presence on Spanish boards. We also find a contagion effect, implying a positive relationship between the number of women already on the board and the likelihood of adding a woman. This could signal some kind of underestimation of women’s skills and preconceptions about their attitudes (such as risk-aversion) and hence their capacity to hold these positions. Theoretical/Academic Implications: This study provides empirical support for the prediction of Becker’s theory of discrimination. The study also furnishes evidence in favor of the existence of false preconceptions concerning the skills and risk attitudes of female managers. Practitioner/Policy Implications: In order to reduce discrimination before reaching the board we propose to implement education and mentoring initiatives to improve the training of the female candidates, and to improve the work- and family-life balance. Once they are included in the pool of candidates the implementation of good corporate governance practices related to transparency and objectivity in selection procedures and/or even the establishment of a women’s quota on boards may contribute to dismiss employers’ negative beliefs about the capabilities of female candidates.

Searching for Women on Boards: An Analysis from the Supply and Demand Perspective

Manuscript Type Review Research Question/Issue This paper seeks to provide a systematic review of the multidisciplinary theoretical approaches to women on boards in order to understand the factors that hinder and facilitate the access of women to boards, to show the instruments that can be used to promote women to senior corporate positions, and to outline a research agenda suggesting gaps that still need to be filled. Research Finding/Results Womens access to boards appears to be fragmented in research silos from a variety of areas, lacking a comprehensive view that provides instruments to overcome the barriers hindering the access of women to corporate boards. More in particular, this paper has found very little scientific analysis to understand what instruments can be the most efficient in eliminating barriers for women to reach boardrooms given different cultural environments. Theoretical Implications This paper aims to create a comprehensive framework for understanding the presence of women on boards and for indicating existing gaps to be filled by new research in the future. This framework will help future researchers in analyzing specific instruments and to measure their efficiency in eliminating gender imbalance. Depending on the approach taken for research, the theoretical backgrounds used vary. While on the supply side the predominant theories are gender role theory, gender self-schema, and work–family conflict, the demand side is based on gender discrimination, human and social capital theory, resource dependence theory, and institutional environment theory. Practical Implications This research provides suggestions to typify causes and provide nuanced policy tools to promote women into leadership positions. Future lines of research are proposed to fill the gaps in understanding female representation in top management positions.

Jobs for the Boys? The Glass Ceiling and the Market for Corporate Control

Women and ethnic minority groups hold few boardroom positions. In this paper, we adopt a novel identification strategy to test whether this is caused by a lack of suitable candidates for director positions or, alternatively, by discriminatory barriers that prevent these groups from progressing up the corporate hierarchy. We study the determinants of director appointments following completed mergers and acquisitions. Since directors at the acquisition target will be considered for an appointment at the newly merged firm, our approach allows us to observe the characteristics of successfully appointed target directors jointly with the characteristics of directors who have not been appointed to the board of the merged firm. Our results show empirical evidence consistent with biases in the recruitment of directors. We find that Hispanic directors are less likely to be appointed to the board of the merged firm. Further, women are less likely to be appointed if they previously held a non-executive post and if the representation of women on the acquiring firm’s board is higher. We also find that powerful CEOs are more prone to appoint women to the board. These effects cannot be explained by director and deal characteristics.