On the gender principle of forming the boards of directors of companies

Corporate governance issues in the context of the ongoing process of digitalization of the economy and the implementation of the ESG agenda are increasingly attracting the attention of both business owners, management, and all interested parties (shareholders, customers, suppliers, employees, investors, communities). One of the important elements of corporate governance is the formation of the board of directors. The most discussed issue, especially in European countries, is the gender diversity of boards of directors and its impact on company performance. The authors examined different points of view on this problem and the practice of solving it in different countries, incl. and in Russia. The authors noted the ambiguity of the results of empirical studies, as well as the prevalence of studies proving a positive relationship between the increase in the number of women on boards of directors and the performance of large companies. The article notes the need for a broad discussion on this topic in Russia. The authors consider it desirable to introduce gender quotas only for enterprises with state participation. For other enterprises, it is enough to indicate the recommendations in the Corporate Governance Code.