Cultural environments and the appointment of female directors on boards: An analysis from a global perspective

Abstract

Hofstede's six cultural dimensions (power distance, individualism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance, long‐term orientation and indulgence) has received little attention concerning the presence of female directors on boards. Moreover, past research has only focussed on four or five of these six cultural dimensions. Thus, this research aimed to analyse how gender diversity on boards is affected by all of the Hofstede cultural dimensions in a sample of firms operating in different countries. The data for this research were collected from Thomson Reuters database. The article draws on institutional theory, which suggests that firms are influenced by cultural aspects, as they are not separated from their environment but interact with their environment through relationships with stakeholders. The findings show that cultural dimensions, such as power distance, individualism and indulgence, have a positive effect on the proportion of female directors on boards. In contrast, the dimensions of masculinity and long‐term orientation affect the proportion negatively, and uncertainty avoidance does not seem to have an influence.