Regulatory Mandates and Gender Diversity in Corporate Boards: The Family Firm Effect

Abstract

Regulatory mandates by various governments on women representation on company boards play an important role in fulfilling the Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG-5 on gender equality) adopted by the members of the United Nations. In this article, we explore the heterogeneity in firm responses to such a regulatory mandate introduced by the Indian government in 2014. We propose that, driven by the need to build legitimacy among stakeholders, family firms are more likely to comply with the mandate when compared to non-family firms. However, driven by considerations to leverage women family members and minimise board independence, family firms are more likely to appoint a woman executive director. Within a sample of family firms, this behaviour is more likely among standalone firms when compared to family business group firms. We find supportive evidence in a sample of 1,507 publicly listed Indian firms over a five-year period, comprising pre- and post-regulation years.