| Description |
This paper will study gender diversity on corporate boards and in management positions within S&P 500 firms. I will review the literature on shareholder activism, and introduce anecdotes on what activist investors have done to influence gender diversity in firms. I will then perform quantitative analysis on the actions of activist investors, primarily focused on shareholder proposals, in areas focused on diversity. Specifically, I will study whether activist actions increase corporate board and management diversity. I also seek to understand if pressures from activist investor to increase gender diversity on boards and in executive level positions affect overall firm performance, measured for example by market reactions. Due to my limited sample size, I took a deep dive into a couple of significant shareholder proposals and company announcements that specifically pertained to gender diversity. These companies were either targeted by activists or had a vote to change policy within their Board of Directors. I found in my analysis some general trends that activists and companies have. |
