Moderating role of ownership structure on the women directors’ contribution towards financial performance

Despite the increasing recognition of the valuable contributions that women directors bring to corporate performance, their representation on corporate boards remains limited, sparking ongoing debate. This underrepresentation has become increasingly pressing, as insufficient female participation in boardrooms may result in imbalanced decision-making, weaker governance structures and a lack of diverse perspectives essential for sustainable corporate growth. Failure to address this imbalance not only hampers corporate competitiveness and innovation but also posed long-term risks to investor’s confidence, corporate reputation and stakeholder trust. This study examines the extent to which women directors contribute to effective stakeholder representation, sound decision-making and enhanced corporate social responsibility (CSR) engagement, and whether these contributions translate into improved financial performance. The study also explores the factors contributing to the persistent underrepresentation of women on the boards of publicly listed companies in Malaysia. Using a mixed-methods approach, the research incorporated quantitative survey to assess the perceived contribution of women directors to financial performance and qualitative interviews with directors of Malaysian listed companies to obtained deeper insights into their experiences, contributions, and challenges. The quantitative results indicated that the contributions of women directors were not statistically significant in improving company financial performance, and the moderating variable, ownership structures, examined in the study, did not produce a significant effect. Qualitative findings revealed that difficulties in identifying suitable female candidates stemming from industry-specific expertise gaps and limited visibility of the female talent pool remain key barriers to increasing women’s board representation. This study sheds light on the complexities surrounding women's representation on corporate boards and offers important implications for future research, policy development and organizational practices aimed at advancing gender diversity in corporate governance.