RT info:eu-repo/semantics/article
T1 Board gender diversity and dividend payout: The critical mass and the family ties effect
A1 García Meca, Emma
A1 López Iturriaga, Félix Javier
A1 Santana Martín, Domingo Javier
K1 Dividend payout
K1 Pago de dividendos
K1 Family firms
K1 Empresas familiares
K1 Gender diversity
K1 Diversidad de género
AB We analyse the relationship between female directors and payout policy for a sample of non-financial Spanish listed firms. Based on the critical mass theory, we find an inverted-U shaped relationship. For low levels of female representation in the board, women directors increase dividends in order to reduce agency conflicts, and improve reputation or legitimacy. However, after an inflection point, characteristics traditionally associated to women, such as risk aversion, a conservative and prudent financial attitude, and lower overconfidence emerge and reduce dividend payments. Moreover, our results suggest that female directors play a very different role with the controlling shareholder, depending on what family ties exist. Women directors who have family connections with the dominant shareholder exhibit the same inverted-U shaped relationship with dividends. In contrast, for female directors with no family ties, the relationship with dividends is U-shaped. Our results show the faultlines within the group of female directors depending on the relationship with the family owners, and that the influence of non-family female directors only arises when this group of women gain enough power, visibility, authority, and legitimacy.
PB Elsevier
SN 1057-5219
YR 2022
FD 2022
LK https://uvadoc.uva.es/handle/10324/50938
UL https://uvadoc.uva.es/handle/10324/50938
LA eng
NO International Review of Financial Analysis, 2022, vol. 79, 101973
NO Producción Científica
DS UVaDOC
RD 09-may-2024