Women on Boards on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange - Good for business?

Antonio, Esther

Women on Boards on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange - Good for business?

Thesis / Dissertation

2026

Publisher

University of Cape Town

Department

Graduate School of Business (GSB)

Faculty

Faculty of Commerce

Abstract

This research examines the relationship between gender diversity and company performance, addressing the question of whether women on boards on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange are “good for business” in terms of enhancing financial performance. The research focused on 54 companies listed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) analysed over a period of four years, 2014-2017. The research used four regression models incorporating both the proportion of all female directors (GD) and a gender diversity index (GDI) measuring the proportion of independent female directors and evaluating their effects on return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE). The data showed that the number of women on boards on companies on the ZSE was low (12% average in absolute terms) , including 35% of companies with no female directors and an average of one female director per company. Small positive associations appear in the ROA models, while the ROE models produce larger but highly unstable coefficients, reflecting the volatility of equity-based performance measures. In contrast, leverage consistently demonstrates a strong negative effect across all specifications, and firm size and board size contribute minimally to explanatory power. Overall, the findings suggest that gender diversity on boards does not reliably enhance immediate financial returns, indicating that the business case for women on boards requires a multi-dimensional and longer-term approach to build out. These results underscore the importance of continuing to explore the broader strategic and structural benefits of board gender diversity beyond short-term financial metrics as well as the need for future research to explore longer-term, non-financial, and structural dimensions of board diversity that may better capture its organizational value. The dissertation recommends actions for the ZSE to increase female representation on company boards as well as further avenues for research.

Keywords

Zimbabwe

stock exchange

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