Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/125054 
Year of Publication: 
2015
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 9537
Publisher: 
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
This paper uses worldwide firm-level data to scrutinize the governance factors that favor gender diversity in leadership positions. Our results reveal that the gender of the dominant shareholder is key. The chief executive of firms with a female dominant shareholder has a significantly higher probability of being a woman than in other firms. The effect is even more pronounced when the female shareholder holds a higher share of the capital and when the firm is foreign-owned. Our results suggest that "old boys' club" ownership structures are a major impediment to the empowerment of female talent in developing countries.
Subjects: 
gender
diversity
ownership
leadership
CEO
development
JEL: 
O15
J71
G32
M51
D22
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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