Gender diversity: Are women at the strategic level less risk-taking than men?

Gender diversity and its impact on firm performance has received extensive attention in the last decade, but still its effects are not well known. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between gender diversity and risk-taking. By focusing on the specific case of Albanian small and medium enterprises (SMEs), the study investigates the attitude towards risk of chief executive officers (CEOs), chief operating officers (COOs), and chief financial officers (CFOs), trying to contribute a new understanding of gender diversity and risk behavior. A sample of 247 top managers, 80 men, and 167 women, was analyzed and a quantitative approach, based on different statistical tests, was adopted to verify the effect of gender diversity. The results suggest that there are no differences between male and female top managers, thus not confirming an association between gender diversity and risk-taking. The study upgrades the evidence arising from the existing literature by providing new elements to support a deeper understanding of the effects of top managers’ characteristics on risk-taking and firm performance. By analyzing the multifaceted nature of gender diversity this study offers important implications for scholars, companies, and policymakers, aiming to enhance the knowledge base in the fields of strategic decision-making and firm performance.