Board gender diversity and firm financial performance in France: Empirical evidence using quantile difference-in-differences and dose-response models

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between board gender diversity and firm performance under the enabling and voluntary institutional settings in France. We use a Quantile difference-in-differences and dose-response function estimations. The findings show that the comply-or-explain recommendation by the French code is likely to decrease performance for poorly performing firms. However, firm performance increases after the enabling date in high-performing firms. The results of the dose-response functions show that accounting performance reaches a threshold of 40% of women on boards, which coincides with the French law requirements in 2017.