Mixed-Gender Boards Outperform All-Male boards, Finds Study

From Inside Investor Relations -”Boards with female presence have better corporate governance and mix of leadership skills”

Companies with at least one woman on the board of directors outperformed companies with all-male boards for the past six years in share price gains, according to a report by the Credit Suisse Research Institute.

Companies with a market capitalization exceeding $10 bn with mixed-gender boards outperformed those with all-male boards by an average 26 percent over the past six years, based on a like-for-like comparison, according to the study of more than 2,400 companies.

For stocks with a market cap of less than $10 bn, mixed-gender boards outperformed all-male boards by 17 percent. The study concludes that the advantage of mixed-gender boards became clearer in the tougher markets since 2008 and had minimal impact in 2007 and earlier.

‘Stocks with greater gender diversity on their boards generally look defensive: they tend to perform best when markets are falling, deliver higher-than-average returns on equity through the cycle, exhibit less volatility in earnings and typically have lower gearing ratios,’ Credit Suisse analysts write in a note explaining the study.

‘Almost all of the outperformance in the back-test has been delivered post-2008, as the macro environment deteriorated and volatility increased.’

Stocks with females on the board also showed a 16 percent return on equity, compared with 12 percent for all-male boards, the report adds. Net income growth for stocks with mixed-gender boards was 14 percent over the six years, compared with 10 percent for single-gender boards.

The report concludes that the enhanced performance of mixed-gender boards could stem partly from improved corporate governance in relation to all-male boards and partly from a better understanding of women as consumers.

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http://www.insideinvestorrelations.com/articles/corporate-governance/18890/mixed-gender-boards-outperform-all-male-boards-finds-study/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=buffer&buffer_share=20536

The Board Director Training Institute (BDTI) is a "public interest" nonprofit in Japan dedicated to training about directorship, corporate governance, and related management techniques. It is certified by the Japanese government to conduct these activities as a regulated nonprofit. Read a summary about BDTI here, and see a menu of its services for both corporations and investors here.

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