GENDER IN THE C-SUITE AND INFORMATIONAL TRANSPARENCY

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Abstract

This study explicates and empirically tests the implication of gender in the C-Suite for corporate governance. In particular, we investigate the impact of the Chief Financial Officer’s (CFO) gender on informational asymmetry. The results document that firms hiring female CFOs experience an improvement in the level of transparency, represented by a reduction in the bid-ask spread and an increase in share turnover, relative to those hiring male CFOs. Additionally, the evidence shows that the impact of female CFO representation is more pronounced among firms with high agency costs. The results are robust to a series of robustness tests and even after including gender diversity of the board and of the C-Suite.

Keywords: Agency Costs, CFO Gender, Ethics, Information Asymmetry, Risk-Aversion

JEL Classification: G3, G4

Received: 11.03.2018

Accepted: 21.05.2018

Published online: 05.09.2018

How to cite this paper: Doan, T., & Iskandar-Datta, M. (2018). Gender in the C-Suite and informational transparency. Corporate Ownership & Control, 15(4-1), 149-157. https://doi.org/10.22495/cocv15i4c1p2