Women on Corporate Boards and the Incidence of receiving a "strike" on the remuneration report

Abstract

This paper examines the effect of one form of board diversity on the incidence of receiving a 'strike' (i.e., receiving 25 percent or more 'no' votes) on the remuneration report by ASX companies in Australia. More specifically, the research hypothesises that there is a negative association between women presence on corporate boards and the likelihood of receiving a 'strike' on remuneration reports. Using the Financial Review Business Intelligence's remuneration report voting database, this study constructs a matched-pair sample of 314 strike firms and 314 control firms from 2011 to 2013. After controlling for other 'strike' related factors, the results suggest a significant association between the presence of at least one woman on the board and a lower incidence of receiving a 'strike'. This finding contributes to the research by showing that the presence of female directors is likely to enhance the monitoring function of the board and thus lower the likelihood of receiving a 'strike' on the remuneration report.