Women in the Boardroom and Cultural Beliefs about Gender Roles

Abstract

We ask whether the prevalence of women in corporate leadership roles is impacted by regional attitudes towards gender roles. Previous studies show that cross‐country differences in gender attitudes are highly persistent and have pre‐industrial origins. We find that countries with more gender‐egalitarian attitudes have more women on corporate boards. These effects persist through immigration. U.S. firms located in counties with greater portions of their populations originating from gender‐egalitarian countries have more women on corporate boards, more women in leadership roles on boards, and more female executives. The effects of culture extend beyond corporate leadership, as greater gender‐egalitarianism is associated with high female labor participation, lower gender pay gaps, and greater female participation in STEM jobs.