Corporate
governance and women's participation in the financial performance of
enterprises: a systematic review

Governança
corporativa e a participação de mulheres no desempenho financeiro das empresas:
uma revisão sistemática

Luciane Silva Franco

Mestranda em Engenharia de Produção.
Universidade Tecnológica Federal do Paraná (UTFPR) – Brasil.
[email-masked]

Juliana Moletta Nadal

Mestranda em Engenharia de Produção.
[email-masked]

Luiz Alberto Pilatti

Doutor em Educação Física. Universidade
Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP) – Brasil. [email-masked].

Claudia Tania Picinin

Doutora em Administração. Universidade
Positivo (UP) – Brasil. [email-masked]

Antonio Carlos Franco

Mestrando em Engenharia de Produção.
[email-masked]

ABSTRACT

In corporate boards,
there is great concern about women's participation in executive positions and
how this may impact the financial performance of organizations, particularly to
shareholders. This study aims to analyze the relationship between corporate
governance and women's participation in corporate financial performance from
2015 to 2019. The methodology used was based on the application of the Methodi
Ordinatio, with the Scopus and Web of Science databases, resulting in the
complete analysis of 28 articles. Among the results, the aspect of the
representation of female participation is emphasized, both for the company's
financial performance and for the disclosure of social activities to
shareholders. Results were found that highlight the participation of women
positively influences the company's decision making, provided that in addition
to female executive positions, positive financial performance indicators are
presented. From the analyzed articles 78.6% bring results that present a direct
or indirect relationship between the presence of women on the board and the
financial performance. It is concluded that most research shows that gender
diversity among board members influences the company's financial performance
and reduces risk through disclosure of corporate social responsibility
activities. However, women's representation on boards is under development, as
some articles have shown that there was no significant relationship between the
variables presented in this study.

Keywords: Corporate Governance. Woman.
Company. Performance. Gender.

RESUMO

Nos conselhos administrativos das
empresas, há uma grande preocupação sobre a participação das mulheres em cargos
executivos e como isto pode impactar no desempenho financeiro das organizações,
principalmente, perante os acionistas. Este estudo tem como objetivo analisar a
relação entre a governança corporativa e a participação de mulheres no
desempenho financeiro das empresas no período de 2015 a 2019. A metodologia
utilizada baseou-se na aplicação do Methodi
Ordinatio, com as bases de dados Scopus
e Web of Science, resultando na análise completa de 28
artigos. Entre os resultados, enfatiza-se o aspecto da representatidade da
participação feminina, tanto para o desempenho financeiro da empresa quanto
para a divulgação de atividades sociais perante os acionistas. Também foram
encontrados resultados que destacam que a participação de mulheres influencia
positivamente na tomada de decisão da empresa, desde que além de cargos
executivos do gênero feminino, sejam apresentados indicadores de desempenho
financeiro positivos. Dos artigos analisados 78,6% trazem resultados que
apresentam uma relação direta ou indireta da presença de mulheres nos conselhos
administrativos e o desempenho financeiro. Conclui-se que a maior parte das
pesquisas mostra que a diversidade de gênero, entre os membros dos conselhos de
administração, influencia no desempenho financeiro da empresa e reduz os riscos
através da divulgação de atividades de responsabilidade social corporativa. No
entanto, a representação das mulheres em conselhos administrativos está em
desenvolvimento, pois alguns artigos mostraram que não houve relação
significativa entre as variáveis apresentadas neste estudo.

Palavras-chave:
Governança Corporativa. Mulher. Empresa. Desempenho. Gênero.

Recebido
em 10/10/2019.  Aprovado em 09/12/2019.
Avaliado pelo sistema double blind peer review. Publicado conforme normas da ABNT.

http://dx.doi.org/10.22279/navus.2020.v10.p01-14.1091

1 INTRODUCTION

Globally, government officials employ policies
to broaden women's participation on corporate boards. These policies are based
on the principle that women's participation positively influences the financial
performance of organizations (UNITE; SULLIVAN; SHI, 2019). However, some
research shows that women bring a style of management that adds value to
company performance, while others emphasize that women's limited experience in
management positions reduces financial effectiveness as a board member (FAKIH;
GHAZALIA, 2015; DANI; PICOLO; KLANN, 2019).

In parallel with this inconclusive approach,
empirical evidence on corporate governance and female participation in
corporate financial performance is mixed, even in studies conducted in the same
countries (ABDULLAH; ISMAIL; NACHUM, 2016; LEE-KUEN; SOK-GEE; ZAINUDIN, 2017).

Companies are experiencing high levels of
ethical, economic and social responsibility (FAKIH; GHAZALIA, 2015). For this
reason, corporate governance in recent years has been discussed more
prominently, becoming fundamental in the strategic planning of companies
(ASSUNÇÃO; DE LUCA; VASCONCELOS, 2017).

Female participation on boards increases the
company's social and government disclosure, favorably influencing
organizational performance. By addressing communication as an essential element
for the functioning of the board, it positively influences diversity in the
business environment and facilitates dialogue building (COMI et al., 2019).

The United Kingdom (UK) presents a corporate
governance code of 2014, which highlights the importance of involvement at the
strategic level of all stakeholders. This change leads to a gender dynamic in
the corporate governance system, encouraging different opinions and skills in
board meetings (ARAYSSI; DAH; JIZI, 2016).

In countries such as Brazil and China, this is
a widespread issue, so it is important to increase the participation of women
in the decisions of the council. This becomes a way of acquiring a broad group
of employees who may possibly be able to offer greater attention to
stakeholders by relating decisions to market needs (DANI; PICOLO; KLANN, 2019).

Comi et al., (2019) present a study that
evaluates greater female participation in the board of directors can
significantly increase investments in the social area. According to Rossi, Hu
and Foley (2017), women in management positions perform representative work in
decision making in social responsibility activities. This is an element that
has a positive impact on the corporate board regarding the quality of the
exercise of social responsibility. Colaco, Myers and Nitkin (2011) mention that
the women's participation increases the number of consciously social decisions
when compared to men. The increase in social outreach endorses an image of concern
for the company with citizenship.

Less gender-diverse boards increase the chances
of risk at the company's strategic levels. Therefore, the increase in female
participation generates positive results in relation to social responsibility,
which benefits shareholder satisfaction through the repercussion in reducing
company risks (FAKIH; GHAZALIA, 2015).

Regarding the number of publications in the
area of corporate governance and female participation, 277 articles were identified
from 2015 to 2019. This research sought to broaden the literature that
addresses the influences on corporate governance with gender diversity in board
participation. In this research it is believed to obtain a contribution to the
literature, since no studies were found that related these topics together as
evaluated in the present study.

Through this brief context, the objective of
the present study is to analyze the relationship between corporate governance
and women's participation in companies' financial performance from 2015 to
2019.

2 CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

The theme of this research is related to
corporate governance and organizational performance, focusing mainly on the
participation of women in the boards. Given this scenario, there are two main
theories: stakeholder theory and agency theory. According to Arayssi, Dah and
Jizi (2016), stakeholder theory suggests having a greater presence of women on
boards reducing the chance of risks in organizational performance. Already the
theory of the agency predicts that organizations promote women for the
development of activities (mainly social) involving the board of the company.

Therefore, agency theory presents a view that
relates a large influence on the board, depending on gender variation. To better
address agency theory, Cruz et al. (2019) analyze the influence of gender
diversity on shareholder behavior. The authors mention that the women's
participation on the board increases the chances of financial return,
especially in countries that offer investor protection by developing better
board strategy and monitoring.

In another view, according to Unite, Sullivan
and Shi (2019), stakeholder theory explains that company effectiveness is
achieved in accordance with good citizenship practices, taking responsibility
for social, ethical and value concerns. The execution of social responsibility
reports promotes dialogue between the organization and its shareholders, this
impact on the company's commitment to social practices and endorses reciprocal
benefit sharing.

Research shows the influence of disclosure of
social responsibility to increase financial performance and reduce business
risks. Long-term shareholders present an appreciation profile in the
environmental and social elements of companies when establishing a business
relationship, due to the repercussion that this brings to the image of the
organization (GORBACHEVA et al., 2016).

For example, they emphasize that the disclosure
of social information increases the certainty of the future working capital of
the organization. However, communicating the exercise of social responsibility
activities influences the reduction of agency conflicts and increases the bond
with stakeholders (MORENO-GÓMEZ; CALLEJA-BLANCO, 2018).

2.1 Women's participation in councils

Women's high participation in board
decision-making reflects more efficient corporate governance through a variety
of board procedures, as well as relationships with other organizations
(WILLOWS; VAN DER LINDE, 2016). According to Unite, Sullivan and Shi (2019),
women in board positions increase sensitivity to the valuation of mutual
interests, being able to improve the board's activities.

The forms of monitoring broaden the
opportunities for organizations to be more committed to corporate social responsibility
actions. The authors mention that women in strategic positions contribute to
results that enhance the company's financial performance, because in addition
to occupying positions of leaders, they play an indirect role as representing
change in decision making represented by women (FAKIH; GHAZALIA, 2015).

Effective reporting is required as measured by
the influence on the return and risk of the organization. Increased female
participation is reflected in the effectiveness of disclosing corporate social
responsibility, reducing the chances of risk and increasing company performance
(SRIVASTAVA; DAS; PATTANAYAK, 2018).

A relationship between gender diversity in
board decision-making and stock financial performance, where this relationship
improves stock price due to increased disclosure of corporate social
responsibility activities (ISIDRO; SOBRAL, 2015). Shareholders have positive
insights when it comes to gender issues, this profile appears mainly in
European countries, such as Germany where shareholders have an upbeat reaction
to the appointment of female directors (GORBACHEVA et al., 2016).

This receptive behavior of shareholders reduces
the inequality of directors, as it promotes autonomy of the board. Based on
this concept, Cabrera-Fernández, Martínez-Jiménez and Hernández-Ortiz (2016)
mention that the percentage of female participation in strategic positions in
Italy shows positive results in the organization's financial performance, with
calculations based on the number of sales and the result of the asset. In the
study by Mcguinness, Lam and Vieito (2015), women on the corporate board
generate greater monitoring in organizations, resulting in better quality
gains. On the other hand, according to Abdullah, Ismail and Nachum (2016),
female board participation generates efficient financial performance for the
organization only if the company's focus is on strategic innovation.

Evidently, the behavior of female directors is
different when compared to men, where gender diversity influences the effectiveness
of the board (UNITE; SULLIVAN; SHI, 2019). Obtaining legality for the
development of female participation needs to be one of the councils' main
goals, as these practices are strongly resistant to change (HOSSAIN et al.,
2017). Unite, Sullivan and Shi (2019) mention that women's participation on
boards contributes to the effectiveness of corporate governance, including
ethical focus, improved monitoring and democracy in the leadership process.
However, the contributions of female directors increase sensitivity in employee
relations and consideration of the diverse interests of stakeholders, and these
capabilities enhance board service.

In contrast, some studies point out that there
is no total relationship between increased financial performance and women's
participation in boards. According to Byron and Post (2016), female
participation in boards has positive impacts, as long as combined with strong
financial investments and a set of knowledge, skills and values that concern
not only the financial performance but also the social performance of all
parties involved. In the study by Aripin et al. (2016), agency theory can bring
effective monitoring to the diversity of board members as it provides a balance
and minimizes any agency conflict that may be caused by stakeholders. The
authors also praise that it is not just a small group of directors that will
increase success in decision making, but the interaction and involvement of
everyone within the business system.

3 METHODOLOGY

A systematic literature review was performed
based on the methodology described by Pagani, Kovaleski and Resende (2015), the
Methodi Ordinatio, which develops a methodological ordering of relevant high
impact articles on’ the given theme.

This methodology is based on nine steps: 1)
establishment of research intent; 2) preliminary research with keywords in the
databases; 3) definition of the combination of keywords and databases to be
used; 4) final search in databases; 5) filtration procedures; 6) identification
of impact factor, year of publication and number of citations; 7)
classification of articles using InOrdinatio; 8) location of articles in full
format; 9) systematic reading and analysis of articles.

The research steps were performed describing
the databases used and the results that were obtained, as presented in Figure
1.

Figure 1 - Summary of literature review steps

Source: Own Authorship (2019).

The study used the Scopus and Web of Science
databases for research articles and review articles, with a time period from
2015 to 2019. It is justified that the choice of the Scopus and Web of Science
databases was mainly because they are the largest bases of abstracts and
bibliographic references of peer review scientific literature, allowing a
multidisciplinary scientific view with the integration of applied research,
basic and technology innovation (ARCHAMBAULT et al., 2009; FALAGAS et al.,
2008). Scopus and Web of Science feature high impact journal coverage, however
according to results reported by Norris and Oppenheim (2007), both bases
provide a broad bibliographic coverage in the Social Sciences area. The choice
of the time frame is justified in order to identify how this field has been
behaving over the years 2015 to 2019, in order to fill the existing gap of this
type of study.

For the definition of the keyword group, Boolean
operators and truncation symbols were used, as follows: “(‘corporate governance
’AND performance * AND women*)”.

After searching the databases, as presented in
Figure 1, a result of 277 articles was obtained. As a result, the 43 duplicate
articles were deleted, resulting in a result of 236. Filtering by title and
abstract was performed, eliminating those articles that did not fit this
research, excluding 206 articles in total and thus leaving 28 articles.

Subsequently, the InOrdinatio formula was
applied, where all articles were selected. Thus, a complete analysis was
performed in the 28 articles. The following formula was used: [(IF / 1000) + α* [10 - (APe – APu)] + (Σ Ci)]. Where: If: impact factor; α:
Coefficient attributed by the researcher, usually 10; APe: year of research;
APu: Year of publication of the article; and Ci: Citation number of the article
in other studies.

The software Microsoft Excel, Mendeley and
Jabref were used. Bibliometric analysis was performed through the number of
citations of the article defined by Google Scholar, impact factor where JCR
2018 (Journal Journal Citation Reports) was considered, these data were
collected in September 2019. In the InOrdinatio coefficient is considered the
year of publication with a score (α) that is ranked from 1 to 10 according to
the author's choice, and the closer to 10 means that the author considers the
relevance of updated articles in relation to the year of publication. The
authors' choice was a score of 10, since a time limit was defined considering
the last five years.

The 28 high impact articles are presented in
the results and discussion section. Visual maps were built using VOSviewer
software. For full analysis of the selection of articles, besides the criteria
already mentioned as year of publication, impact factor and number of
citations, other factors were evaluated such as: theme of the article, main
topics (corporate governance, performance, women, gender, among others) and the
country of the research.

4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

The classifications of high impact articles
according to the InOrdinatio coefficient are presented in Table 1.

Table 1 – Final Result of Systematic Review

Ranking

Article

Year

IF

CI

INORDINATIO

1

Does having women on boards create value? The impact of societal
perceptions and corporate governance in emerging markets

2016

5,48

115

185

2

The Effects of Women on Corporate Boards on Firm Value, Financial
Performance, and Ethical and Social Compliance

2015

2,92

114

174

3

Do Women Leaders Promote Sustainability? Analyzing the Effect of
Corporate Governance Composition on Environmental Performance

2016

5,36

73

143

4

Women on Boards of Directors and Corporate Social Performance: A Meta-Analysis

2016

2,71

69

139

5

Women on boards, sustainability reporting and firm performance

2016

2,2

41

111

6

When Do Women Make a Better Table? Examining the Influence of Women
Directors on Family Firm's Corporate Social Performance

2019

5,32

1

101

7

Board Diversity and Performance of Philippine Firms: Do Women Matter?

2019

0

1

101

8

Gender influence, social responsibility and governance in performance

2019

0

1

101

9

Boardroom gender diversity and corporate sustainability practices: Evidence
from Australian Securities Exchange listed firms

2017

5,65

20

100

10

Female Executives And Corporate Social Responsibility Performance: A
Dual Perspective Of Differences In Institutional Environment And
Heterogeneity Of Foreign Experience

2019

1,11

0

100

11

Board Gender Diversity and Organizational Determinants: Empirical
Evidence from a Major Developing Country

2019

0,83

0

100

12

Where Women Make a Difference: Gender Quotas and Firms' Performance in
Three European Countries

2019

0

0

100

13

Board Gender Diversity in the STEM&F Sectors: The Critical Mass
Required to Drive Firm Performance

2018

1,67

7

97

14

The relationship between women's presence in corporate positions and
firm performance: The case of Colombia

2018

0

6

96

15

Women on Boards and Financial Performance: Evidence from a European
Emerging Market

2018

2,08

5

95

16

Women's participation on boards of directors: a review of the
literature

2016

0

21

91

17

Women on boards in India: a need or tokenism?

2018

1,53

0

90

18

Women in the boardroom and corporate decisions of Italian listed
companies Does the ``critical mass'' matter?

2017

1,53

10

90

19

An empirical evidence on the effect of women board representation on
firm performance of companies listed in Iraq stock Exchange

2018

0

0

90

20

The Role of Gender in Business Process Management Competence Supply

2016

2,6

18

88

21

Gender Diversity And Firms' Financial Performance In Malaysia

2017

0

7

87

22

Women representation on boards: a South African perspective

2016

0

15

85

23

Women on board and its impact on performance: Evidence from
microfinance sector

2017

0

4

84

24

Women in the boardroom and their impact on climate change related
disclosure

2017

0

2

82

25

The impact of women directorship on real estate companies: A case in
Malaysia

2017

0

0

80

26

Gender and other major board characteristics in China: Explaining
corporate dividend policy and governance

2015

2,47

19

79

27

Do Malaysian women directors create corporate value?

2016

0

0

70

28

Participation of women in the board of directors and its relationship
with the financial performance of an organization

2016

0

0

70

Source: Own Authorship (2019).

The results are presented according to the final
portfolio of 28 articles, after having passed the criteria in the selection
process described in the methodology. The theme is recent and constantly
developing.

Using text data, a map was constructed
considering titles and abstracts, full counting method with a minimum number of
occurrences of 5, thus 24 terms out of a total of 370 met the criteria, as
presented in Figure 2.

Figure 2 - Co-occurrence of terms - final portfolio

Source: Own Authorship (2019).

In the co-occurrence of terms and their
interrelationships, it can be seen that the terms corporate governance,
financial performance, women, participation and director (in light green tones)
appear in the early years. In addition, the terms financial performance,
women's performance, gender diversity, and corporate governance position (in
shades of yellow) appear in the studies of recent years. However, it can be
seen that the high impact research between 2016 and 2017 has been directed at
corporate governance and its financial performance with the participation of
women in strategic level positions, from 2018 these surveys, in addition to the
theme performance of women, present gender comparison studies regarding
executive positions in corporate governance.

A co-authoring map was prepared based on
bibliographic data, as presented in Figure 3.

Figure 3 - Co-authorship - final portfolio

Source: Own Authorship (2019).

The co-authorship map, though, was based on
bibliographic data, co-authorship as type of analysis and authors as unit of
analysis, full counting as counting method and the clusters according to the
number of documents per author. The network found was 86 authors and coauthors,
with the formation of 27 clusters (authors who conducted joint studies),
totaling 105 ties.

The classification of publications by country
is shown in figure 4.

Figure 4 - Number of publications per country

Source: Own Authorship (2019)

America is the continent with articles of
greatest impact on the topic (with InOrdinatio> 100), especially the United
States. Developed countries seem to be more concerned about the issue than
developing countries, which is worrying. Countries such as China and Brazil,
however, are prominent in representing the group of developing countries with
high impact publications. Comi et al. (2019) mention that developed countries
make contributions on the insertion of draft legislation involving gender
quotas in the corporate environment. According to Dani, Picolo and Klann
(2019), in Brazil, female participation in the decision-making autonomy of
companies, especially in the financial sector, is still recent. Lu et al.
(2019) describes in their study in China, that the country presents the policy
formulation for the introduction of women in high level corporate positions,
policies that are of great importance to reverse gender inequality.

Regarding the number of publications per year,
Figure 5 shows from the first article according to the classification
determined by the method of this study.

Figure 5 - Number of publications per year

Source: Own Authorship (2019).

There was a large increase in the amount of
publication on the theme from 2015 to 2016, and a reduction between 2017 and
2019, keeping a stable number of articles, however, it still early to get
conclusive about trends, since there is no extensive history yet. The theme
seems to be in the early stages of development, thus being a favorable area for
the improvement of high impact research in the coming years.

Analyzing the 28 articles, seven performed a
systematic review, six were documentary analyzes, five applied questionnaires
and the others applied other methodologies, as shown in Table 2.

Table 2 - Corporate Governance and Women's Participation

Corporate Governance and Women's
Participation

Authors

Country

Methodology

Women's board positions add value to some organizations but reduce to
others. These results may vary depending on each company's financial
performance indicators and board structure.

Abdullah; Ismail; Nachum (2016)

Malaysia

Documentary research

Effective financial performance is related to the presence of women on
the board, especially with no return on assets. The study suggests greater
female participation in management positions that may increase the direct or
indirect form of the organization's values.

Isidro; Sobral, (2015)

Portugal

Documentary research

The performance and composition of gender diversity
yields benefits in corporate activities.

Glass; Cook; Ingersoll, (2016)

USA

Systematic review

While female board participation has a positive influence on
shareholders, social performance is stronger only when resources are
available for stronger investor protection.

Byron; Post (2016)

USA

Systematic review

The female presence on corporate boards generates an influence that
reduces the risk on companies' financial performance due to disclosure of
involvement in social activities.

Arayssi; Dah; Jizi, (2016)

Lebanon

Literature review

Research shows an increase in women's participation on corporate
boards in decision-making positions. This increase occurs mainly in the
presence of women who belong to the family of directors of the company.

Cruz et al., (2019)

Spain

Documentary research

Male and female directors have different and comparable skills.
Women's participation has a positive impact on companies, as women have new
perspectives on decision making that can contribute to organizational
performance.

Unite; Sullivan; Shi  (2019)

USA

Systematic review

Gender diversity increases decision-making autonomy and, as a result,
improves the company's view of shareholders. In countries like Brazil, this
participation is still recent.

Dani; Picolo; Klann, (2019)

Brazil

Systematic review

The presence of women on the board increased between 2010 and 2014.
Gender diversity has a positive impact on corporate sustainability
activities.

Nadeem; Zaman; Saleem, (2017)

Australia

Systematic review

The study presents a theoretical framework for policy making that
improves the organizational environment and reverses gender discrimination in
management positions.

Lu et al., (2019)

China

Systematic review

Understanding the organizational structure in
relation to the corporate environment generates more information about gender
diversity in councils, especially in developing countries.

Saeed Et Al., (2019)

EUA

Multivariate analysis

Gender quotas have a positive impact on the
organization's financial performance in countries such as Italy. The results
present contributions about the insertion of draft legislation involving
gender quotas in the corporate environment.

Comi et al., (2019)

Italy

Documentary research

The effect of corporate social responsibility
increases the company's financial performance when there are at least 30%
women in executive positions on the corporate board.

Wiley; Monllor-Tormos, (2018)

EUA

Generalized Method of Moment (GMM)

This research contributes to improve the way
women influence performance in the corporate governance structure, generating
more flexibility in decision making.

Moreno-Gómez; Calleja-Blanco, (2018)

Colombia

Systematic review

In an emerging market, actions aimed at
broadening gender diversity in board participation generate viable data on
financial performance, generating a balance between social cohesion and the
elements of corporate economics.

Ionascu et al. (2018)

Romania

Questionnaire

Women's presence on boards does not directly
impact the financial performance of organizations, as a well-defined
organizational structure is required. The authors suggest that comparative
studies be conducted between different countries, analyzing each specific
culture.

Cabrera-Fernández; Martínez-Jiménez; Hernández-Ortiz
(2016)

Spain

Literature review

The involvement and interaction between men and
women on the board can generate policy and decision making with new perspectives
on the emerging economy.

Srivastava; Das; Pattanayak, (2018)

India

Documentary research

A representation of women on the board influences
financial and investment decisions. Female participation has a negative
impact from a risk standpoint and a positive impact from an investment standpoint.

Rossi; Hu; Foley (2017)

Italia

Generalized Method of Moment (GMM)

The survey measured the results of corporate
assets, and found better financial performance for companies that had a
higher female stake in boards.

Farhan Jedi; Nayan (2018)

Iraq

Multivariate analysis

Female competences impact decision-making focused
on social representation, and this has a positive impact on shareholders,
improving corporate performance.

Gorbacheva et al. (2016)

Germany

Documentary research

Studies show a higher level of female
participation in companies. The lack of gender balance affects the
performance of organizations.

Lee-Kuen; Sok-Gee; Zainudin, (2017)

Malaysia

Data analysis based on
generalized least square (GLS)

There is an increase in the presence of women in
the councils, but only 18.7% occupy board positions, most of them in
non-executive positions.

Willows; Van Der Linde (2016)

South Africa

Multivariate regression analysis

There is a relationship between female
participation and financial performance, and it increases sustainable development.

Vishwakarma (2017)

India

Questionnaire

Legislation is required for the inclusion of
women on boards, strengthening gender diversity. This enhances good corporate
governance practices.

Hossain et al. (2017)

Canada

Questionnaire

The study was conducted in the real estate sector
in Malaysia, where it sought to find out if there is a relationship between
female board and corporate performance. Female participation has been
reported to have no impact on financial performance and value creation.

Abdullah; Amran; Ishak (2017)

Malaysia

Questionnaire

Women in decision-making positions provide better
quality board monitoring.

Mcguinness; Lam; Vieito (2015)

China

Literature review

Women with higher education in board positions
increase corporate social responsibility. This reflects that higher education
influences to transform women into business leaders.

Aripin et al. (2016)

Malaysia

Literature review

The role of women is motivated by the presence of
the board, but there are no significant results regarding female
participation and the financial performance of the board of companies.

Tanaka; Parodi; Monje (2016)

Peru

Questionnaire

Source: Own Authorship (2019)

There are authors who claim the existence of a
relationship between corporate governance and female participation on boards.
Studies show that this relationship has influence, mainly, in the increase of
return of sales (ISIDRO; SOBRAL, 2015). Disclosing the company's involvement in
social activities reduces the risk to companies' financial performance (GLASS,
COOK; INGERSOLL, 2016). The research by Cruz et al. (2019) show an increase in
the participation of women on corporate boards in decision-making positions,
especially women who belong to the family of directors of the company.

In contrast, some authors partially disagree
that this impact happens significantly. Not all organizations with female board
positions have higher added value, as results may vary according to
company-specific performance indicators (ABDULLAH, ISMAIL; NACHUM, 2016).
Female participation has positive impacts as long as the company provides
resources for stronger investor protection (BYRON; POST, 2016).

Other research, however, shows that there is no
significant relationship between female participation and corporate financial
performance. According to Tanaka, Parodi and Monje (2016), a survey conducted
in Lima, Peru with companies listed on the stock exchange, there were no
significant results regarding female participation in the corporate board of
companies and their financial performance.

Farhan Jedi and Nayan (2018) mention the agency
theory, where the main concern is with the independence of the board. In addition,
the theory defends the balance between non-executive and executive positions.
According to Aripin et al. (2016), agency theory suggests that better
monitoring is performed when the board has diversity of members, as they
generate new perspectives that increase the chances of success in decision
making.

Therefore, it is essential that gender-balanced
grouping on the board is a balanced one, as it is not a small group of
individuals with similar behaviors that will dominate decision-making procedures.

Of the articles that were analyzed, 7.1% did
not find a relationship between benefits for the company and female
participation in executive positions of the board. 14.3% found partial
relationships, as there may be some positive impact on the company's financial
performance, as long as other factors are related, such as organizational
structure, performance indicators and the presence of financial resources that
strengthen investor protection. The remainder, 78.6%, brings results that
present a direct or indirect relationship between the presence of women on the
boards and financial performance.

5 CONCLUSION

The objective of this study was to analyze the
relationship between corporate governance and women's participation in the
financial performance of companies from 2015 to 2019. The objective was
achieved by explaining the main studies that describe the elements that
influence the performance of boards regarding gender.

A mapping of 28 studies that analyzed the
relationship between corporate governance and female representation was
performed. According to the research, there is concern about reducing
companies' risks to investors, which encompasses several aspects, specifically
in relation to social activities, board monitoring and decision-making strategies,
in addition, highlights specific aspects such as: gender, social participation
and socioeconomic issues that directly or indirectly influence the companies'
board of directors.

The findings of this survey conclude that most
research shows that gender diversity among board members influences the
financial performance of the company and reduces risk through disclosure of
corporate social responsibility activities. However, women's representation on
boards is under development, as some articles have shown that there was no
significant relationship between the variables presented in this study. Still
others showed that female participation can have a positive influence on the
company's financial performance provided that the other performance indicators
also present positive results.

As future studies, it is suggested that other
key variables be used, such as company time, influential members of the
community, such as the interaction of male directors with women in executive
positions, and how this impacts on return and risk of organizations.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The present study was developed
under the financial support of the Coordination of Improvement of Higher
Education Personnel (CAPES) and the National Council for Scientific and
Technological Development (CNPq).

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