Female Corporate Leaders and Firm Financial Performance- A study of 152 Swedish Public Companies during the Period of 2010-2017

Abstract: This thesis tests whether there is a relationship between the presence of female corporate leaders and firm financial performance in one of the most gender equal countries in the world- Sweden. The study involves a collection of 152 Swedish public companies during a time period of eight years- from 2010 to 2017. Firm financial performance is measured with the accounting-based performance measures Return on Equity (ROE), Return on Assets (ROA), Return on Capital Employed (ROCE), Return on Operating Capital (ROOC), Operating Margin and Profit Margin. The presence of females in leading positions is measured as the presence of a female Chief Executive Officer (CEO), female Chief Financial Officer (CFO), female Chairman of the board of Directors, the share of women on the board of directors and the share of women in the executive management group. After controlling for industry, time, leverage, size and firm age, the research findings provide no support for an underperformance on the part of female corporate leaders and some support for a positive effect of the presence of female corporate leaders on firm financial performance. More specifically, the relationship seems to hold solely for the share of females on corporate boards and not the presence of a female CEO, CFO, Chairman nor the presence of a higher share of female executive management members.