Chipping Away at the Glass Ceiling: A Social Psychological Perspective on the Role of Women Directors

The glass ceiling in corporate boards all over the world has sparked debate in research and practice. Advocates of chipping away at this glass ceiling argue the importance of gender diversity to improve board monitoring and eventually firm outcomes, while others dispute the benefits of increasing women on boards. In this study, we draw on the social psychological perspective to analyze whether increasing the proportion of women on the boards of publicly listed Spanish firms is relevant for corporate governance. Our findings show that the presence and leadership positions of women on the board and/or the nomination committee are not significantly associated with the increase in incorporating new women directors. Moreover, we find that women are less likely than men to be assigned with leadership positions, both in the board as a whole or its board committees. These findings suggest that women face gender bias, resulting in a double glass ceiling in corporate boards. Furthermore, the presence of women directors—even when assigned with leadership positions in the board or relevant board committees—does not improve or diminish the main board monitoring activities, thus uncovering that women on boards may yield similar outcomes despite being outnumbered by men in the boardroom.