The Relationship Between Women Directors on Board and Firm Performance: Indian Scenario.

The inconclusive studies on ownership pattern and its effect on profitability of firms make it compulsory to learn about the impact of women directors' ownership on the performance of Indian firms. Studies have been conducted on the mechanism by which the ownership structure is formed and is being premeditated for interassociations amidst corporate ownership and physiognomies of board structure. Previous studies have investigated the relationship among various parties within a firm and the impact on performance through Agency theory, as this theory leads to separation of ownership and control. But the results are rather mixed. Taking a proportional sample of companies from four major industries, this study attempts to find the impact of women directors on the board on the performance of firms. Based on women directors' ownership, i.e., taking the number of women directors, independent women directors, non-executive women directors, qualification, age and marital status as independent variable, its impact on the performance of Indian firms was measured, using ROA, Tobin's Q and Net Worth. The study concludes that there is a positive relation between women directors on board and firm performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]