TITLE:
Women Representation on Boards of Directors of Commercial Banks in Bangladesh: Recent Trends and Best Practices
AUTHORS:
Tania Karim, Md. Bazlur Rahman, Hossain Shaid Shohrowardhy
KEYWORDS:
Gender Diversity, Women on Board, Banking Sector, Board Effectiveness, Board Governance
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Industrial and Business Management,
Vol.12 No.11,
November
22,
2022
ABSTRACT: Gender is at the forefront of corporate board
diversity. Experts have always seen that women directors significantly
influence the board’s working style and processes and, consequently, firm
performance, especially in financial institutions. Globally, governments
emphasized gender diversity to improve corporate governance following the
financial crisis in 2008. A growing body of research has explored gender
diversity in corporate governance, focusing on single-country and
cross-industry analysis, excluding the specific sector. The objective of the
study is to examine the most recent status of women’s representation on the
boards in the Bangladeshi banking sector. Also, this study investigates the
best practices and initiatives to promote gender diversity on boards around the
globe in order to improve diverse boards in the banking sector. In a survey
among the 24 commercial banks from 2009 to 2020, the study found that only nine
to twelve percent of female directors were represented on the banking boards.
During the last decade, the trends of women’s participation on board were not
improved significantly in the industry. The study results have important implications
for board governance and diversity theories.