Suleman Dawood School of Business (SDSB) is organising a PhD Management Dissertation Defense.
December 1, 2023
Time:
11:00 am
Faculty Lounge (SDSB building, 4th floor)
Dissertation Title: “The Role of Gender in Finance” by Nighat Seema, Candidate PhD Management.
Date: Friday, December 1, 2023
Time: 11:00 am
Venue: Faculty Lounge (SDSB building, 4th floor)
Zoom link: https://lums-edu-pk.zoom.us/j/92197358070?pwd=TU90VHlOVmt0bzFjNzhXdG15Q…
Meeting ID: 921 9735 8070
Passcode: 204139
Dissertation Defence Committee
Dr. Fazal Jawad Seyyed - Supervisor & Chair
Dr. Tanveer Shehzad – Member SDSB
Dr. Ayesha Masood – Member SDSB
Dr. Shafay Shamail ‐ Member (LUMS)
Dr. Hilal Anwar Butt - External Examiner (IBA)
ABSTRACT
This dissertation examines the role of gender in finance, comprising of three distinct research essays related to gender and its impact on different aspects of a firm’s performance. Starting with the background and literature review, this research is followed by three distinct chapters on different aspects of the role of gender on corporate performance.
First, it examines the impact of female ownership on access to finance in developing countries. Access to finance is one of the key factors influencing a company’s growth. Due to lack of financing, firms are unable to reach their full potential which holds down economic development. Additionally, businesses must rely on their own money or find unofficial sources of credit if they are unable to acquire loans from traditional sources of credit. Usually, this results in limited availability of loan and raises interest rates. Based on surveys conducted in different countries, the sample data comes from the World Bank Enterprise Survey (WBES). WBES collects both qualitative and quantitative data at the firm level from small, medium and large enterprises. The logit estimation technique is used to examine the impact of gender on access to finance. The results indicate that female-owned businesses often experience more difficulties in obtaining credit compared to male-owned businesses, but the gap narrows when these businesses are supported by experienced senior management.
Second, it studies how women participation on corporate boards impact research and development (R&D) intensity of firms. Investment in R&D is seen as highly risky, with a longer period of resource commitment and a high level of outcome uncertainty, as compared to corporate investment in physical assets like plant, property, and equipment. To study the impact of women directors on R&D, intensity sample data is extracted from OSIRIS. The findings revealed that, up to a point, a company's R&D intensity is favourably boosted by increased participation of women on board. Beyond a threshold level, impact of female directors on R&D intensity declines but remains positive and significant. The results support the value of gender diversity on corporate boards. This research adds value to the literature by exploring the effect of women directors on R&D intensity of enterprises by analysing the quadratic relationship between female directors on corporate boards and R&D intensity of firms.
Third, this research studies the impact of women directors on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) reputational risk ratings of enterprises. Increasingly, ESG performance is becoming a widely acknowledged benchmark to assess social and environmental performance of firms globally. This chapter relies on a broad sample of companies from both developed and developing economies in order to examine the impact of women directors on ESG reputational risk, with sample data coming from OSIRIS global database. By using logit regression estimation technique, the findings show that the presence of female directors on corporate boards has a positive impact on the ESG reputational risk ratings of enterprises and ultimately, reduces any reputational risk.
