Board Gender Diversity and Financial Performance in Swedish Listed Firms

Sammanfattning

This study examines the relationship between board gender diversity and firm performance in publicly listed Swedish firms during the period 2017-2025. Motivated by mixed findings in previous literature, the study investigates whether the proportion of female board members is associated with accounting-based financial performance and firms’ sustainability orientation. The analysis is based on panel data collected from Swedish listed firms using information from Capital IQ, Wharton Research Data Services and public sources. Financial performance is measured using Return on Equity (ROE), while ESG scores are used as a proxy for sustainability performance. The results indicate that (1) female board representation is positively associated with financial performance, (2) firms with female board representation are more likely to be classified as high ESG firms, although the evidence is significant only at the 10% level and (3) PE/VC- backed firms are less likely to exhibit higher female board representation.