Closing the Gap : Board Gender Quotas and Hiring Practices

We study the impact of board gender quotas on firms' hiring and retention practices. We find that female director tenure significantly increases following the introduction of a quota in France in 2011, with stronger effects among less gender-diverse firms and firms that use networks for hiring. These findings suggest that (some) firms find it costly to comply with the quota law. We also find that female directors hired after the quo-ta are more independent, more experienced, more internationally diverse, and no less academically qualified than those hired before the quota. The gender gaps in most director characteristics also narrow. The evidence suggests that, despite their perceived costs, board gender quotas force firms to change their hiring practices, which allow firms to tap into a deeper talent pool