Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Author-Name: Irean Yap Lee-Kuen
Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Business and Accountancy, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Author-Name: Chan Sok-Gee
Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Business and Accountancy, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Author-Name: Rozaimah Zainudin
Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Business and Accountancy, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Author-Email: rozaimah@um.edu.my
Title: Gender Diversity and Firms’ Financial Performance in Malaysia 
Abstract: This study aims to investigate the relationship between gender diversity in a firm’s board of directors and financial performance of firms listed on Bursa Malaysia for the period between 2009 and 2013. Using unbalanced panel data analysis, we tested whether gender diversity in the boardroom may influence the firm’s performance, as measured by Tobin’s Q. We employed four different proxies for gender diversity (the dummy variable for women, the percentage of women on the board, the Blau index, and the Shannon index) to provide a more comprehensive measure of gender diversity. This study suggests that a higher degree of female representation on the board increases a firm’s financial performance. Positive discrimination favouring female boardroom appointment is therefore likely to persist as a feature of the corporate governance landscape in Malaysia.
Keywords: gender diversity, board of directors, firm performance, corporate governance, Shannon index, Blau index, panel data, Malaysia, board composition, female representation
Pages: 41-62
Volume: 13
Issue: 1
Year: 2017
File-URL: http://web.usm.my/journal/aamjaf/aamjaf13012017/aamjaf13012017_2.pdf
File-Format: Application/pdf
Handle: RePEc:usm:journl:aamjaf01301_41-62