Women on Boards on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange - Good for business?
| dc.contributor.advisor | Alhassan, Abdul Latif | |
| dc.contributor.author | Antonio, Esther | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2026-11-12T11:07:38Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2026-11-12T11:07:38Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2026 | |
| dc.date.updated | 2026-11-12T11:06:44Z | |
| dc.description.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. | |
| dc.identifier.apacitation | Antonio, E. (2026). <i>Women on Boards on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange - Good for business?</i>. (). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Commerce ,Graduate School of Business (GSB). Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/43934 | en_ZA |
| dc.identifier.chicagocitation | Antonio, Esther. <i>"Women on Boards on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange - Good for business?."</i> ., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Commerce ,Graduate School of Business (GSB), 2026. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/43934 | en_ZA |
| dc.identifier.citation | Antonio, E. 2026. Women on Boards on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange - Good for business?. . University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Commerce ,Graduate School of Business (GSB). http://hdl.handle.net/11427/43934 | en_ZA |
| dc.identifier.ris | TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Antonio, Esther AB - 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. DA - 2026 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town KW - Zimbabwe KW - stock exchange LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2026 T1 - Women on Boards on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange - Good for business? TI - Women on Boards on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange - Good for business? UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/43934 ER - | en_ZA |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/43934 | |
| dc.identifier.vancouvercitation | Antonio E. Women on Boards on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange - Good for business?. []. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Commerce ,Graduate School of Business (GSB), 2026 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/43934 | en_ZA |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.language.rfc3066 | eng | |
| dc.publisher.department | Graduate School of Business (GSB) | |
| dc.publisher.faculty | Faculty of Commerce | |
| dc.publisher.institution | University of Cape Town | |
| dc.subject | Zimbabwe | |
| dc.subject | stock exchange | |
| dc.title | Women on Boards on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange - Good for business? | |
| dc.type | Thesis / Dissertation | |
| dc.type.qualificationlevel | Masters | |
| dc.type.qualificationlevel | MCom |