The Effect of Corporate Board Gender Diversity on Compliance with EU Competition Law

The present study finds a relationship between board gender diversity and European competition law compliance. By using a logistic regression model on the DAX30 companies in Germany, the results find that having a larger proportion of women on company boards decreases the chance of receiving a fine for competition law non-compliance. Qualitative analysis moreover shows that companies with a critical representation of women receive lower fines, but companies with less than 15% representation receive higher fines for non-compliance. The study makes important first steps in the search for a new economic rationale that combats the stagnating progress of women’s presence in economic decision-making. The results have implications for the expansion of the business case for women, as well as for finding a new preventative compliance mechanism