Gender diversity and economic performance of firms: Evidences from emerging market

Due to recent concern and heavy discussion on women’s presence in corporate board room, this study examines the link between firm gender diversity and economic performance based on Pakistani listed firms. Empirical evidences show that the issue has a lot been researched in developed economies compared to developing economies. The study employs 30 index firms starting from 2008 to 2010. In order to examine the effect of gender diversity on firm performance, the study uses economic profit of firm, in terms of economic value added (EVA) as performance variable. Thirty seven per cent (37%) listed firms in Pakistan possess women on board while only 7% firms have female CEO. In accordance with prior empirical studies from developed countries, results in this study shows that there is no significant influence of female board members on economic performance of Pakistani listed firms.