Board gender diversity and organizational determinants: empirical evidence from a major developing country

Abstract

This article seeks to identify and analyze the organizational determinants of women presence on Indian corporate boards. Using a sample set of 294 Indian firms between years 2004–2014, Tobit regression analysis indicates that firm size, family ownership and affiliation with the high-tech sector exhibit positive association with the number of female directors on corporate boards. Further, we do not find any significant impact of state-ownership on the number of women on those boards. Notably, the effects of the organizational variables are more pronounced for the proportion of female non-executive directors, as compared to female executive directors. We conclude that understanding the organizational characteristics in conjunction with business environment can provide useful insights into state of board gender diversity, particularly in developing countries.