Detail Cantuman

Abstract This study examines the influence of women on
the boards of directors of National Health Service Foundation
Trusts (FTs) in England. FTs provide a public service
where social performance is the primary objective,
although financial constraints must be met. Female presence
(the proportion of women) is higher for executive
directors than non-executives, reflecting the high number
of women employed in the sector. We find that a high
female presence among executive and non-executive
directorships does not result in significant differences
either in financial return or service quality. When gender
diversity on boards is consistently high (high level of
female presence across boards), the benefits on performance
of having more women on the board may not be
discernible. However, female Chairs or Chief Executives
result in significant reductions in negative social outcomes,
such as lower clinical negligence costs, without harming
financial management. The findings of this study, carried
out in a context of high female presence and where a
woman frequently occupies one of the two most influential
board positions, Chair and Chief Executive, have implications
for gender diversity and gender targets on the
boards of directors in business and other sectors.
Keywords Gender diversity  Board of directors  Public
bodies  NHS Foundation Trust  Corporate governance