Female socialization and the gender of new corporate directors

Abstract

This study examines how female socialization affects the gender of new corporate board appointments. The socialization hypothesis predicts that incumbent directors are more likely to add a woman to their board if their networks of other boards have a high prevalence of women. I examine a sample of over 15,000 new director appointments to S&P 1500 firms from 2012 to 2021 and find broad support for the socialization hypothesis. This study contributes to the literature on the determinants of board structure, the growing literature on female socialization, and also highlights a bootstrapping effect important for increasing board diversity.