Does gender balance on the corporate board have an impact on the equity performance?

Abstract

The objective of this thesis is to examine whether a gender equal board of directors have an impact on the equity performance during the examination period of December 2011 to December 2016. This study shows that the gender balanced portfolio outperforms the non-gender balanced portfolio in all investigated performance measures. The portfolios used in this thesis consists of firms listed on the Swedish stock market which have been classified due to their representation of women on the board. The portfolios are compared and analyzed using the Sharpe Ratio, Treynor Ratio, Jensen’s alpha and Appraisal Ratio. The result implies that a gender equal board improves the equity performance of a company. A regression analysis further implies that the performance of the gender balanced portfolio can not be explained by market movements contrary to the non-gender balanced portfolio. In other words, there must be other factors affecting the performance of the gender balanced portfolio. The main difference between the two portfolios is the share of women on the board which implies that this is one of the strengthening factors. The results can be of interest for investors seeking a socially sustainable investment strategy, but also add value to the ongoing debate regarding gender quotas.