No Result
View All Result
SUBSCRIBE | NO FEES, NO PAYWALLS
MANAGE MY SUBSCRIPTION
NEWSLETTER
Corporate Compliance Insights
  • Home
  • About
    • About CCI
    • CCI Magazine
    • Writing for CCI
    • Career Connection
    • NEW: CCI Press – Book Publishing
    • Advertise With Us
  • Explore Topics
    • See All Articles
    • Compliance
    • Ethics
    • Risk
    • FCPA
    • Governance
    • Fraud
    • Internal Audit
    • HR Compliance
    • Cybersecurity
    • Data Privacy
    • Financial Services
    • Well-Being at Work
    • Leadership and Career
    • Opinion
  • Vendor News
  • Library
    • Download Whitepapers & Reports
    • Download eBooks
    • New: Living Your Best Compliance Life by Mary Shirley
    • New: Ethics and Compliance for Humans by Adam Balfour
    • 2021: Raise Your Game, Not Your Voice by Lentini-Walker & Tschida
    • CCI Press & Compliance Bookshelf
  • Podcasts
    • Great Women in Compliance
    • Unless: The Podcast (Hemma Lomax)
  • Research
  • Webinars
  • Events
  • Subscribe
Jump to a Section
  • At the Office
    • Ethics
    • HR Compliance
    • Leadership & Career
    • Well-Being at Work
  • Compliance & Risk
    • Compliance
    • FCPA
    • Fraud
    • Risk
  • Finserv & Audit
    • Financial Services
    • Internal Audit
  • Governance
    • ESG
    • Getting Governance Right
  • Infosec
    • Cybersecurity
    • Data Privacy
  • Opinion
    • Adam Balfour
    • Jim DeLoach
    • Mary Shirley
    • Yan Tougas
No Result
View All Result
Corporate Compliance Insights
Home Governance

Increase the Number of Women on Corporate Boards

by Michael Volkov
May 9, 2014
in Governance
Increase the Number of Women on Corporate Boards

This article was republished with permission from Michael Volkov’s Corruption, Crime & Compliance.

Corporate Boards need more women.  That is a simple statement, backed by research and evidence that corporate Boards with more women are more profitable.  I have written about that in the past.

A recent study found another benefit from increasing the number of women on a corporate Board: women reduce the occurrence of fraud.  In fact, the new study found that the optimal percentage of women on Boards is 50 percent.  A copy of the study is here.

Companies face significant risks of fraud.  Shareholders suffer significant losses from fraud and misappropriation of funds.  Bribery is just one type of fraud – there are many other kinds.

The hypothesis from the study is that women are more ethically sensitive.  I am not sure such a generalization is appropriate, because women can commit crimes and misconduct.

The study is based on an analysis of Chinese companies over a 10-year period and found that male-dominated Boards were more likely to engage in fraud than Boards with greater gender diversity.  That is a significant finding.

Gender diversity on a corporate Board increases Board interactions and discussions of issues – what an important finding!!!  Corporate Boards that value Board member interaction and discussion tend to perform better.  Gender diversity has a direct impact on Board consideration of a diversity of views.

Interestingly, the study found that increased discussion led to greater conflict, less trust, increased scrutiny and ultimately less fraud.  In the end, that means better Board performance.  Conflict does not necessarily result in decreased performance; on the contrary, it results in greater awareness and scrutiny of business practices and operations.

Companies around the globe, however, continue to ignore the importance of increasing the number of women on corporate Boards.  The United States averages a paltry 15 percent of women on U.S. corporate Boards.  China and Australia are at 10 percent.  Germany has a mere 5 percent presence of women on corporate Boards.  Japan ranked the lowest, with less than 1 percent participation by women on corporate Boards.

Norway and other European countries are starting to mandate quotas for women on Boards.  I am not sure that is the right solution, but corporate leaders need to wake up and focus on this issue.

As women increase their roles in senior management positions, corporate Boards need to improve on gender diversity.  The dual presence of women on corporate Boards and in senior management positions leads to improved financial performance, especially in those markets involving products and services purchased or used by a significant percentage of female consumers.  See studies here and here.

A specific benefit cited in studies from women Board members is improved performance in monitoring corporate operations.  See here.  The implications of this finding are particularly significant in the current enforcement environment.  Corporate Boards are under increased enforcement focus and there is a need to respond to such a risk by exercising increased monitoring and supervision.  One effective way to do this: increase the number of women on corporate boards.


Previous Post

Stop Getting Ripped Off: The Financial and Reputational Case for a Deeply Embedded Ethical Culture

Next Post

Protecting Yourself Against Data Breach: Don’t Be a Target

Michael Volkov

Michael Volkov

Michael-Volkov-leclairryan Michael Volkov is the CEO of The Volkov Law Group LLC, where he provides compliance, internal investigation and white collar defense services.  He can be reached at mvolkov@volkovlaw.com. Michael has extensive experience representing clients on matters involving the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the UK Bribery Act, money laundering, Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC), export controls, sanctions and International Traffic in Arms, False Claims Act, Congressional investigations, online gambling and regulatory enforcement issues. Michael served for more than 17 years as a federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Columbia; for five years as the Chief Crime and Terrorism Counsel for the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Chief Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security Counsel for the Senate and House Judiciary Committees; and as a Trial Attorney in the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. Michael also maintains a well-known blog: Corruption Crime & Compliance, which is frequently cited by anti-corruption professionals and professionals in the compliance industry.

Related Posts

drug cartel soldier camo

Leveraging Human Rights Frameworks to Combat Emerging Cartel Risks

by Nate Lankford, Matteson Ellis and Nisha Sawhney-Murkett
May 19, 2025

As enforcement priorities shift to cartels and foreign terrorist organizations, established human rights processes can identify and mitigate emerging legal...

You are now registered!

Webinar: What Employee Experience Reveals About Your E&C Program

by Corporate Compliance Insights
May 16, 2025

11 a.m. - 12 p.m. ET Tuesday, June 3 Are your ethics and compliance metrics capturing what really matters? Programs...

LRN 2025 Program Maturity Global Study

2025 Global Study on Ethics & Compliance Program Maturity

by Corporate Compliance Insights
May 16, 2025

How does your ethics and compliance program measure up? Global study Ethics & Compliance Program Maturity What’s in this global...

check engine light

What Gets Measured Gets Managed, but What Actually Matters in Compliance?

by Keshonda Walker
May 16, 2025

Looking beyond standard measurements to identify the quiet signals that help compliance teams address issues before they become crises

Next Post
Protecting Yourself Against Data Breach: Don’t Be a Target

Protecting Yourself Against Data Breach: Don't Be a Target

No Result
View All Result

Privacy Policy | AI Policy

Founded in 2010, CCI is the web’s premier global independent news source for compliance, ethics, risk and information security. 

Got a news tip? Get in touch. Want a weekly round-up in your inbox? Sign up for free. No subscription fees, no paywalls. 

Follow Us

Browse Topics:

  • CCI Press
  • Compliance
  • Compliance Podcasts
  • Cybersecurity
  • Data Privacy
  • eBooks Published by CCI
  • Ethics
  • FCPA
  • Featured
  • Financial Services
  • Fraud
  • Governance
  • GRC Vendor News
  • HR Compliance
  • Internal Audit
  • Leadership and Career
  • On Demand Webinars
  • Opinion
  • Research
  • Resource Library
  • Risk
  • Uncategorized
  • Videos
  • Webinars
  • Well-Being
  • Whitepapers

© 2025 Corporate Compliance Insights

Welcome to CCI. This site uses cookies. Please click OK to accept. Privacy Policy
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • About
    • About CCI
    • CCI Magazine
    • Writing for CCI
    • Career Connection
    • NEW: CCI Press – Book Publishing
    • Advertise With Us
  • Explore Topics
    • See All Articles
    • Compliance
    • Ethics
    • Risk
    • FCPA
    • Governance
    • Fraud
    • Internal Audit
    • HR Compliance
    • Cybersecurity
    • Data Privacy
    • Financial Services
    • Well-Being at Work
    • Leadership and Career
    • Opinion
  • Vendor News
  • Library
    • Download Whitepapers & Reports
    • Download eBooks
    • New: Living Your Best Compliance Life by Mary Shirley
    • New: Ethics and Compliance for Humans by Adam Balfour
    • 2021: Raise Your Game, Not Your Voice by Lentini-Walker & Tschida
    • CCI Press & Compliance Bookshelf
  • Podcasts
    • Great Women in Compliance
    • Unless: The Podcast (Hemma Lomax)
  • Research
  • Webinars
  • Events
  • Subscribe

© 2025 Corporate Compliance Insights