Board diversity and firm performance: analysis of Malaysian media and telecommunication companies

This study examines the relationship between Board Diversity and the Firm Performance of Listed Companies in Malaysia, focusing on the telecommunication industry. Few studies have focused on the diversity of corporate boards in Malaysia for the telecommunication industry. This study will focus on the relationship between board diversity, especially gender diversity, ethnic diversity, and national diversity, with firm performance measured by return on assets. This study uses a quantitative approach that uses secondary data from the 15 media and telecommunication companies listed on Bursa Malaysia. The period of 2018 to 2020 annual reports were used for data collection. The independent variables used in this study include gender diversity, ethnic diversity, and national diversity, while the dependent variable is firm performance, which is measured using return on assets. This study shows a positive relationship between national diversity and firm performance. Meanwhile, gender diversity was found not to have any significant relationship with the firm’s performance. The same findings go to ethnicity, where this study found no association between ethnic diversity and firm performance.