Women Directors and Corporate Social Responsibility

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.