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Women on the Board and Managers’ Pay: Evidence from Spain

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Abstract

The current literature shows great interest in the issue of gender diversity on boards of directors. Some studies have hypothesized a direct relationship between diversity and the value of the firm, but not many examine the intermediate mechanisms that may exert an influence on such relationships. We employ two stages of GMM estimation methodology to exhibit evidences of the relationship between gender diversity and compensation of top managers in the Spanish context. Results show that gender diversity positively affects the effectiveness of boards—in terms of composition, structure, size and functioning—influencing a proper design of top managers compensation linked to company performance. Evidences suggest that legislative actions aimed at increasing the presence of women on boards of directors are justified not only for ethical reasons, but also for reasons of economic efficiency.

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Acknowledgments

Authors acknowledge financial support from Fundación CajaMurcia.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Management and Finance, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Murcia, Campus de Espinardo, s/n, 30100, Murcia, Spain

    Maria Encarnación Lucas-Pérez, Antonio Mínguez-Vera, Juan Samuel Baixauli-Soler, Juan Francisco Martín-Ugedo & Gregorio Sánchez-Marín

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  1. Maria Encarnación Lucas-Pérez
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  2. Antonio Mínguez-Vera
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  3. Juan Samuel Baixauli-Soler
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  4. Juan Francisco Martín-Ugedo
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  5. Gregorio Sánchez-Marín
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Correspondence to Maria Encarnación Lucas-Pérez.

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Lucas-Pérez, M.E., Mínguez-Vera, A., Baixauli-Soler, J.S. et al. Women on the Board and Managers’ Pay: Evidence from Spain. J Bus Ethics 129, 265–280 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-014-2148-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-014-2148-1

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