The latest piece of research on gender and business suggests investors chronically overvalue companies with all-male boards. A team from the University of Exeter's schools of psychology and business analysed data from FTSE 100 companies and found those with men-only directorates had a market capitalisation equivalent to 166% of the book value of their assets, while businesses with women at the top commanded a premium of just 121%. On the face of it, those findings can be interpreted as showing women have a harmful effect on performance. A separate study by academics from the University of Queensland and the London School of Economics found the presence of women directors was associated with lower results in well-governed companies.
The Guardian