Female Directors and Employment Security, the role of Family Ownership
co-authors: Luis Gomez Mejía, Fernando Muñoz-Bullón and María José Sánchez-Bueno
This study examines conventional views on board gender diversity by uncovering its effects on employment security in family-owned versus non-family firms. Applying Gender Socialization theory, we argue that female directors in family firms, especially when they have blood ties to the owners, shaped by socioemotional wealth (SEW) motives, are less likely to cut jobs, prioritizing employment security due to their socialized roles of care and protection. This inclination, however, may be neutralized in underperforming family firms. In contrast, female directors in non-family firms, driven by bottom-line pressures, may endorse layoffs, revealing a clash between social expectations and corporate realities. Our analysis of publicly listed U.S. firms (2007–2022) uncovers these paradoxical effects, demonstrating how ownership structure can turn gender diversity from a force for protection into a source of neutrality. Our research contributes to understanding how organizational ownership shapes and drives variations in gender behavior within corporate governance.