Gender diversity in the boards of directors: an exploratory analysis of the Italian companies

The introduction of gender quotas in many European countries has meant that the number of women has increased considerably; Italy, a country that introduced gender quotas in 2011, also saw a clear increase in the number of women on the boards, which has risen at 36.4%, now well above the European average of 26.7%. The purpose of this thesis is to measure perceived gender equality and diversity within the boards of directors. The companies analyzed are 228 Italian listed companies: Italy, in fact, has reached a point where the law that introduced gender quotas in its boards of directors (Law n.120/2011, known as “Golfo-Mosca Law”) has already spread its effects. The thesis is structured in three connected papers: in the first, an overview of the situation of women within the labor market of developed countries is analyzed, using various quantitative data (labor force participation rate, level of education, etc.). The study shows that despite the numerous efforts made by various countries, gender disparities continue to persist, particularly at the expense of women; in the second paper, using a stakeholder theory perspective, a qualitative-quantitative comparative analysis will be carried out; it will show the gender composition of the boards of directors of Italian listed companies and a sample of similar unlisted companies, from which it would seem to emerge that the former are more influenced by the issue of gender diversity, and that the latter present a more homogeneous composition of their administrative bodies, which less contemplates the concept of gender diversity. The results show significant differences between men and women, with particular reference to the number of directors, their age, level of education, positions, CEO duality and interlocking directorates. However, they also seem to show that these differences are attenuated when the compulsory quotas no longer exist: stakeholders’ expectations (in the first place the legislator and the actors who pushed for the introduction of gender quotas) have been respected in form, while in substance women still remain underrepresented in the top positions in both groups analyzed, despite the efforts of the legislator. It would therefore appear (at least momentarily) a more formal than substantial effectiveness of the Golfo-Mosca law; in the last paper is analyzed the issue of gender equality, taking into consideration the boards of directors of Italian listed companies. Despite the fact that the Golfo-Mosca law has introduced a mechanism useful to guarantee a fair representation of the two genders within them, in fact, it has been shown that the effective power of women and the positions they occupy in the top management are still marginal, demonstrating a more formal than substantial effect of the aforementioned law (Pastore e Tommaso, 2016; Solimene et al., 2017). In addition to the analysis of the hypothetical substantial effects of the Golfo-Mosca Law and the formal verification of the presence of gender quotas, it is also advisable to try to measure the level of perceived gender equality by the directors, in relation to the board of directors to which they belong. The paper verifies the presence of gender equality in the boards of Italian listed companies, verifying the possible gap in perceptions between men and women. Through an exploratory study based on quantitative data on perceived gender equality and diversity by the directors of listed companies, we assume there may be significant differences between men and women. Gender equality’s measurement was carried out by sending a structured questionnaire, prepared on the basis of two previous studies. From the results it has been possible to notice a different perception of equality and diversity on the part of the two genders, with women showing lower scores, but not too different from those of men, similar to the results obtained by the study of Tominc (2017) on managers of Slovenian companies.