Board gender diversity, board compensation and firm performance. Evidence from Jordan

Purpose: This study aims to analyze the relationship between board gender diversity, board compensation and firm financial performance in the developing country, Jordan, whose cultural, economic and institutional context is very different from most previously analyzed countries’ context. Design/methodology/approach: Ordinary least squares regression was used to examine the association between board gender diversity, board compensation and firm financial performance in a sample of 510 firm-year observations during the years 2009–2018. Generalized least squares estimation method was used to confirm that the results are robust. Findings: The author provides new evidence that board gender diversity does not contribute to firm financial performance. The author also detects that there is a positive relationship between board compensation on firm financial performance. Originality/value: This paper examines the under-researched relationship between board gender diversity, board compensation and firm financial performance. In so doing, the author tries to provide new insights into this relationship within the developing context, the case of Jordan that has a different environment from that of advanced markets. To the best of the researcher’s knowledge, this is almost certainly the first research to investigate the impact of board gender diversity and board compensation on firm financial performance in the Jordanian market. This manuscript is expected to be used as a reference by the regulators and policymakers – both in Jordan and other countries with a similar institutional, cultural setting – to provide a deep understanding of the impact of board gender diversity and board compensation on the firm performance.