Executive Management Female Representation and Firm Performance in Switzerland

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Bibliographic information

Cover of Volume: Swiss Journal of Business Volume 80 (2026), Issue 2
Open Access Full access

Swiss Journal of Business

Volume 80 (2026), Issue 2

Authors:
Publisher
Nomos, Baden-Baden
Copyright Year
2026
ISSN-Online
2944-3741
ISSN-Print
2944-3741

Chapter information

Open Access Full access

Volume 80 (2026), Issue 2

Executive Management Female Representation and Firm Performance in Switzerland

Authors:
ISSN-Print
2944-3741
ISSN-Online
2944-3741
Preview:

We examine the evolution of female representation in Swiss executive management and its impact on firm performance. We show a significant increase in female executive management members from 2005 through 2024. Examining the association between substantive female representation and firm performance in terms of return on equity and revenue growth, we find no significant relation. However, decomposing the return on equity via a DuPont analysis reveals that substantive female representation (top quartile, >14.3 %) is associated with higher profit margins and lower financial leverage, though these associations are sensitive to threshold specification. Additional analyses indicate that these performance implications have become more pronounced over time.

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