| dc.description.abstract | In this research, we examine if there exists a link between board gender diversity
and financial performance, hereunder what is believed to be the very worst of
financial performance – bankruptcies. After the gender balance law was introduced
in Norway in 2003, researchers found a negative link between gender diversity and
ASA-firms’ financial performance. Firms with the organizational form of AS has
in the same period experienced a natural increase in female board members but have
not been researched against the financial performance until now. We therefore
provide valuable additions to the literature on this topic and our findings show that
the increased female presence positively affected financial performance of ASfirms
(which is the opposite result on ASA-firms). This result is robust to various
means of measure and prove that, when not forced by law, gender diversity creates
more value for the shareholders. We therefore suggest that the gender balance law
on ASA-firms is ready for modification, and that the Norwegian government should
be careful trying to implement the quota for AS-companies in the future. Besides,
we find that gender diversity is positively linked to the long-term survival of ASfirms.
The results show that if the board is all-female or all-male, the predicted
probability for bankruptcy is larger than for firms with gender diverse boards. This
result indicates that zero gender diversity increases the chance of being a bankrupt
firm, and therefore, we in addition prove that gender diversity is a positive factor in
long-term survival of firms. | nb_NO |
