Research On The Influence Of Female Directors On Company Performance

In recent years, many countries have issued related laws and regulations for quota allocation of female executives whose involvement in company governance has also become a hot-spotted topic in academia. Many companies have been trying to increase the number as well as the proportion of female executives in the board of directors. In the meanwhile, to enhance roles of the female leadership in business operation, governance efficiency, and company performance, so as to make gender diversity a key factor for company governance.Overseas scholars have studied the influence of gender diversity on company operation and governance from different aspects, including in-depth analyses on company performance. Through reference materials, numerous researches have been conducted based on listed companies in western countries, but no. While, there is a lack of relevant researches in this field, and empirical studies are even more rare to see in China. So far, studies have simply focused on common phenomena and related publications. Female leaders vary from each other in affecting company performance due to differences in economy, politics and culture. In that case, it should not be compared with empirical studies in other countries. Therefore, it is of pragmatic significance to study the necessity and roles of the female leadership in the context of local listed companies in China, so as to enable female executives from the board to fulfill their duties and improve the personnel structure of the board by taking gender diversity into consideration.By studying companies listed on the main board of Shenzhen Stock Exchange between 2009 and 2012, this paper formulates research-based hypotheses and creates corresponding models by adopting both correlation and regression analyses, in order to understand how female leadership affects the company performance, and in what way it works. As a result, to provide theoretical basis for improving gender diversity in the board of directors. This paper has a total of five parts.Part one introduces the background information, purpose, reference materials, methods and logic as well as some innovative ideas. Part two focuses on such theories as theories on company governance and efficiency, theories on the function of diversified board of directors and theories on company’s social reputation. Part three explains tow different part, which are, Women directors and the correlation between company performance, the selection of performance indicators. Part four discusses examples chosen for the research and proposes hypotheses by describing and analyzing company performance, the fact of the company’s female leadership and characteristics of female executives. According to the hypothesis, it creates a corresponding model for the research and apply statistical softwares for the analysis of regression. In the meanwhile, it also tests the hypothesis and comes to a conclusion. Part five makes a conclusion of the study and elaborates lessons learned and limits of the study which would be useful for further studies in the future.This paper clarifies some certain relationships between the female leadership and company performance through empirical analysis. The research shows that the higher proportion of female staff, the more obvious change could be found on the company’s financial performance; female board members with higher academic degrees might have a better impact on the company; females with financial and administrative knowledge could influence the company in certain aspects; the female leadership might somehow affect the move of the board. In addition, the study also indicates that female leadership may also play a positive role in fulfilling the company’s social responsibilities.