Board Gender Diversity And Financial Perfomance Of Commercial Banks In Kenya

Abstract

The relationship between board gender diversity and the financial performance of firms has continued to elicit debate. Proponents of board gender diversity have averred that a diverse board leads to better financial performance of firms while those who are against it have argued there is no relationship at all or there exists a negative relationship between the two. It is with the above in mind that the study set out to establish the kind of relationship that exist between the gender diversity of the board and the financial discharge of Kenyan commercial banks. The study was based on the commercial banks licensed in Kenya due to the paucity of data that covers this field. The study relied on the published financial reports of the licensed banks to analyse the data. The study used descriptive statistics in the study. The study used the statistical package for social science (SPSS) to carry out the analysis. The study established a negative existing connection among the board gender diversity and the financial performance of commercial banks. It was recommended that further studies should be done in the field covering a large data set and using different industries in order to get conclusive results in the relationship between the two.