Ownership structure and contributions of female directors: impact on financial performance in Malaysian public listed companies / Suhaila Zainal Abidin, Norziana Lokman and Memiyanty Abdul Rahim

Despite increasing recognition of the valuable contributions of female directors, their representation on corporate boards still needs to be improved. This study investigates the relationship between female directors' contributions to stakeholder representation, decision-making, and corporate social responsibility (CSR), and the financial performance of companies. Additionally, the study examines how ownership structures, such as family, government, institutional, and foreign ownership, might moderate the relationship between female directors' contributions and financial performance. The study utilised primary and secondary data to achieve the aims of the study. Survey questionnaires about female directors' contributions were distributed to 250 companies selected using a purposive sampling technique. Data on financial performance, ownership structures, and control variables were collected from annual reports for the year 2019. The study's findings reveal that Malaysian public listed companies with female directors tend to exhibit lower financial performance. Surprisingly, no evidence supported the idea that female directors' contributions positively impact financial performance. However, government ownership moderates the relationship between female directors' contributions and company performance. These results provide practical and policy implications for female representation on corporate boards.