Scandinavian Working Papers in Economics

Working Paper Series,
Research Institute of Industrial Economics

No 1425: Gender Quotas and Support for Women in Board Elections

Marina Gertsberg (), Johanna Möllerström () and Michaela Pagel ()
Additional contact information
Marina Gertsberg: University of Melbourne
Johanna Möllerström: George Mason University, Postal: Arlington, VA, and Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN), Box 55665, 102 15 Stockholm
Michaela Pagel: Columbia GSB, NBER, and CEPR

Abstract: We study shareholder support for corporate board nominees before and after the 2018 California gender quota. Pre-quota, new female nominees received greater support than new male nominees, consistent with women being held to a higher standard. Post-quota, as the number of women increased, support for new (mandated) female nominees decreased to the same level of, but not lower than, the support that new male nominees enjoy. Still, share prices reacted negatively to the quota. We show that this reaction was concentrated in firms that did not turn over their least-supported male directors when adding women to comply with the quota.

Keywords: Board of directors; Gender quota; Regulation; Corporate Governance

JEL-codes: G30; G34; G38; J16; K38

Language: English

76 pages, March 24, 2022

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