Over the last decade, there has been a major push to diversify corporate boards. For example, the proportion of women directors of firms in the S&P 500 index rose from around 10% in 2000 to over 30% in 2023. It is also well-established that larger firms have more women directors than smaller ones. We study where these women directors came from and how they’ve been absorbed in our paper, When Bill Rolls Off: Continuity and Change on Corporate Boards.

First, we look at candidates with board experience. Starting towards the end of the 2010s, we find that women with board experience see a jump in their subsequent board positions relative to their similarly situated male colleagues. For example, women with experience at small-cap companies in 2020 obtained, on average, 0.19 additional board seats (or, alternatively, a 19% greater chance of an additional board seat) in 2022 compared to their male colleagues—equivalent to one sixth of a standard deviation. This is consistent with the idea that many companies began to more aggressively seek out female candidates in that period. We find estimates of similar magnitudes for women with experience at mid- and large-cap companies (again, comparing the number of board seats they have two years later to their similarly situated male colleagues).

Read more at Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance