Women on Boards of Directors: Gender Bias or Power Threat?

Abstract

In this article, we study the variables that indicate human capital and social capital of female and male members of governing boards of companies on the stock exchange in 2013, two years after the quota law was promulgated. Relying on previous studies in France and in the United States, we compare demographic profiles, educational profiles and professional experience of the 1250 women and men members of the boards of companies on the stock exchange in 2013. Our results show that women have training and professional careers that are close to that of men, as shown by the results of a similar study that we carried out on 2010 data. However, differences do persist between men and women as to the nature of professional experience and the type of mandate. Explanations and possible consequences of those results are discussed in the article.