FEMALE DIRECTORS AND SMES: AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS

Abstract

The topic of gender has attracted the interest of researchers in recent years. However, most empirical results are based on listed firms. The aim of this paper is to study gender diversity on boards of direc- tors in a sample of 10,786 Spanish small and medium enterprises (SMEs) using panel data analysis. The results show that gender diversity in the boardroom has a positive effect on firm performance. Also, the presence of an individual who is a main shareholder has a positive impact on female repre- sentation on the board of directors. In contrast with this, having a non-financial firm as principal shareholder diminishes the probability that women will be appointed to the board. The results indi- cate that women directors prefer to be on the boards of firms with less financial risk. Finally, smaller firms and larger boards include more women as directors.