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Do female managers perform better? Evidence from Italian manufacturing firms

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  • Concetta Castiglione
  • Davide Infante
  • Janna Smirnova
Abstract
The aim of the paper is to test whether the presence of females on boards of directors influences firms productivity. The analysis is conducted on a large sample of Italian manufacturing firms extracted from the Analisi Informatizzata delle Aziende database for the years 2004 and 2012. Our results show that firm productivity is positively influenced by the presence of women managers in both post and pre‐crisis periods, revealing that peculiar features of female human capital matter in running manufacturing firms. The productivity differential is found to depend on geographical localization. Female managed firms located in the North–West regions significantly increase the positive firm productivity differential of the geographical area, while firms located in the South and Islands reduce the firm differential productivity gap registered by the area. Further investigation shows that female and mixed managed firms result to be more productive than male only managed firms. In the light of our findings we discuss the importance of policies that provide incentives for female inclusion in leading position of the firms.

Suggested Citation

  • Concetta Castiglione & Davide Infante & Janna Smirnova, 2022. "Do female managers perform better? Evidence from Italian manufacturing firms," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(2), pages 2194-2209, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:ijfiec:v:27:y:2022:i:2:p:2194-2209
    DOI: 10.1002/ijfe.2268
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    1. Sule Alan & Gozde Corekcioglu & Mustafa Kaba & Matthias Sutter, 2023. "Female Leadership and Workplace Climate," ECONtribute Policy Brief Series 057, University of Bonn and University of Cologne, Germany.
    2. Tchapo Gbandi & Ayira Korem & Kossiwa Zinsou-Klassou, 2024. "Save women entrepreneurs: gender, cultural context, and micro-commerce performance in Togo," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 62(3), pages 1099-1133, March.

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