THE IMPACT OF TOP MANAGEMENT GENDER HETEROGENEITY ON ASSET QUALITY OF COMMERCIAL BANKING SECTOR IN NIGERIA

The study investigated the effect of top management gender heterogeneity on the asset quality of commercial banks in Nigeria, focusing on deposit mobilization ratio and performing loan ratio. Adopting an ex-post facto research design, secondary data spanning a defined period were extracted from financial reports of selected commercial banks in Nigeria. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics and Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression techniques to evaluate the relationship and significance of gender heterogeneity on the selected performance metrics. The findings reveal a weak positive relationship and no significant effect of gender heterogeneity on the deposit mobilization ratio. Conversely, a weak negative relationship and no significant effect were observed on the performing loan ratio. However, the findings deviate from global evidence suggesting stronger impacts of gender diversity on financial performance. The study concludes that while gender heterogeneity promotes diversity and inclusivity, it does not directly affect asset quality in commercial banks. Recommendations include enhancing the expertise of female directors and implementing targeted capacity-building initiatives to maximize their contributions to organizational outcome.