The impact of board gender diversity on firms performance during the COVID-19 crisis

الملخص EN

This study aims to examine if female representation on board can enhance the firms’ performance during the times of crises and uncertainty related to the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak.

this study uses a sample of Egyptian firms listed on the Egyptian stock exchange index (EGX 100), over the period 2017 to 2021.

ordinary least squares (OLS) and two-stage least squares (2 SLS) regression analysis are used to test the hypotheses.

results show that board gender diversity has a positive and significant impact on firm performance as measured by returns on assets (ROA), but not when measured by tobin’s Q (i.

e., firm value).

after splitting the sample, results reveal that board gender diversity has a positive impact on firm performance (as measured by ROA) during the period of COVID-19 pandemic (2020-2021), but not before it (2017-2019).

this implies the significant role of female representation on corporate board during times of uncertainty and crises.