Does female representation on board improve firm performance? A case study of non-financial corporations in vietnam

Abstract

This paper evaluates the impact of board gender diversity on the performance of 170 non-financial corporations listed on the Vietnamese stock exchange over the period 2010–2015. Empirical results suggest that gender diversity measured by the proportion of female directors on board and the number of female directors on board positively affects firm performance. Such positive effect is primarily derived from women directors’ executive power and management skills rather than their independence status. Besides, we found evidence that boards with at least three female members exert a stronger positive effect on firm performance than boards with two or fewer female members.