Women in Bank Boards and Bank Performance during COVID-19

This paper explores the impact of board gender diversity on bank performance during the
COVID-19 crisis. Using data from 87 European banks from 2015 to 2021, we show that the
presence of women on bank boards had a positive impact on bank profitability during the
COVID-19 crisis. This effect is more pronounced in countries where the morbidity rate is higher.
Our results suggest a negative relationship between the women on bank boards and bank credit
risk during the pandemic. The impact of women on insolvency risk, however, appears only for
banks with relatively large boards.

Full text is available here.