Mind the (Gender Pay) Gap: The role of Board Gender Composition

Gender Pay Gap
Board of directors
Pay transparency

Galanakis, Y. and Gosling, A., (2024), “Mind the (Gender Pay) Gap: The role of Board Gender Composition”

Authors
Affiliations

King’s College London

Amanda Gosling

University of Kent

Published

April 2024

Modified

August 2025

Other details

Presented at ESCoE Conference on Economic Measurement 2023, IAAE 2023 Annual Conference, WPEG Annual Conference 2023, Gender Gaps 2023 Conference, University of Alcalá research seminar, the 26th Colloquium on Personnel Economics and the Productivity Institute Brownbag Seminar Series.

Abstract

We study how the share of female directors affects company-reported gender pay gaps using linked administrative data. We combine gender pay gap reports with proprietary board-composition data for 8,411 UK firms with at least 250 employees (2017–2021). Our identification uses a Bartik (1991)-style instrumental variable design that exploits regional shifts in female board representation. A one-percentage-point increase in the female director share reduces the gender pay gap by 0.043 percentage points. Moving from the current UK average to board gender parity would close about one-sixth of the reported 9.7% pay gap. The effect operates through three channels. Female directors generate asymmetric wage increases favouring women, improve female representation across pay quartiles, and ensure more equitable allocation of performance-related pay. Effects are concentrated in firms with 250-5,000 employees and are strongest when UK nationals comprise a board majority.

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