IMPACT OF CORPORATE BOARD GENDER DIVERSITY ON FIRM FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE AND RISK: NEW INSIGHT FROM PAKISTAN STOCK EXCHANGE

Abstract

This study has intended to investigate the relationship between women on corporate boards and the financial performance of Pakistan's firms. Also, the study will examine the relationship between women in corporate boards and firm risk in Pakistan. The study will be quantitative in nature, and a positivist research philosophy will be used. This research study will be based on all 37 sectors of Pakistan's Stock Exchange, having 546 firms that constitute the population of the study. The collected data will be analyzed using EViews software for panel data analysis including descriptive analysis of all variables, and unit root tests for stationary of the data. The result showed that gender diversity, female directors, blau index and board independence has a negatively significant effect on firm risk. The finding showed that CEO duality has a positively significant effect on firm risk. The results also showed that firm leverage has a positively significant effect on solid risk, while firm size has a negative significant effect on solid risk. The research also illustrates the complex impacts of gender diversity on many risk factors. The study has recommended that government must immediately implement clear reporting standards requiring companies to reveal the gender breakdown of their board of directors.