Critical Mass of Women on Boards and Firm Performance: Insights from Spanish State-Owned Enterprises

Abstract State-owned enterprises (SOE) are very important entities for the development of the economic and financial policy of the governments of countries. Despite policies to promote gender equality and the requirement of minimum quotas for women in management positions, the presence of women in these positions in the SOE continues to be very low. We carried out a study, using panel data, on the relationship between gender diversity in management positions and the results obtained by unlisted Spanish SOE during the years 2014–2021. Our results show that the presence of women in boardrooms positively affects the financial performance of SOEs, and in line with Kanter (1977), improvements are higher for a critical mass of women on boards.