Women Directors and Corporate Social Responsibility

Abstract

The successes and failures of organizations are contingent on the decisions of senior management and its board of directors. Personality and experiences may have a tangible effect on the decision making process. This study assesses whether or not gender has a tangible effect on an organization’s decisions. A sample of Fortune 500 companies were examined to determine whether companies with a higher proportion of women on their boards of directors are more socially responsible. In general, a diversity of people generates a diverse set of opinions that impacts and improves the decision-making process. Our expectation was that gender diversity will increase socially responsible behavior by a corporation. The results of this study confirm our research question; an association was found between the number of female directors on a corporate board and the incidence of corporate social behavior including: charitable giving, community involvement, and outside recognition of employee benefits.