Thesis (MBA.) -- University of Limpopo, 2016 / This research examined whether an improved participation of women in the board of Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) firms has any relationship with sustainability disclosure. Accordingly, the objective of this research was to examine the relationship between the number of women on the board and environmental, social and gender-employment disclosure in South African firms. The research applied a purposive sampling design to study the nine best socially responsible investing firms on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and secondary data were collected from the sustainability reports of the firms. Using a quantitative approach, the panel-data regression analysis was used to analyse the relationship between women on the board of directors, environmental, social and gender employment disclosure. Energy consumption disclosure, social investment and the number of women employment in the firms were the proxy for environmental disclosure, social investment and gender employment disclosures respectively. Findings show a positive relationship between the number of women on the board of directors and firm disclosure on energy consumption, disclosure on women employment and social investment disclosure. However, the number of women employed in the corporate is still very low in comparison with the male counterparts. The research recommends that, given the unique social and environmental sensitivity of women, the corporate should recruit more women onto the boards to enhance accelerated corporate sustainability performance and disclosures. Key words: sustainability disclosure, women in the board, sustainability performance, energy disclosure, sustainable development

Women are often predominated in so-called "women´s jobs" including nursing, teaching and administration while jobs such as manager, board of director and financier are dominated by men. Hence, the corporate board has been male-dominated. However, in recent decades the number of women entering the boardroom has increased. Women are aware of their opportunites in terms of managerial jobs. Nevertheless, Sweden has one of the highest levels of gender equality in the world. Women with business experience and education are steadily moving upp the corporate ladder. The importance of female directors´ contributions on the corporate board has been recognized. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate how women contribute on the corporate board in Sweden. The focus of the study lies on the perspectives of female and male directors. The study was conducted with the use of a qualitative method. It provided us with an understanding of the subject based on respondents´ experience. In order tol fulfill the purpose, eight semi-structured interviews were conducted with male and female directors on the corporate board in Sweden. The empirical data was analyzed by the process of qualitative data analysis (QDA). We have increased the knowledge of female directors´ contributions on the corporate board in Sweden. Female directors do not posses a profound understanding of female customers. There is a strong link between female representatives and enhanced board communication. Furthermore, there is no relation between female directors and companies´ involvement in charitable activities. There is no difference in the way female and male directors monitor the board.

<p>Women are often predominated in so-called "women´s jobs" including nursing, teaching and administration while jobs such as manager, board of director and financier are dominated by men. Hence, the corporate board has been male-dominated. However, in recent decades the number of women entering the boardroom has increased. Women are aware of their opportunites in terms of managerial jobs. Nevertheless, Sweden has one of the highest levels of gender equality in the world. Women with business experience and education are steadily moving upp the corporate ladder. The importance of female directors´ contributions on the corporate board has been recognized. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate how women contribute on the corporate board in Sweden. The focus of the study lies on the perspectives of female and male directors. The study was conducted with the use of a qualitative method. It provided us with an understanding of the subject based on respondents´ experience. In order tol fulfill the purpose, eight semi-structured interviews were conducted with male and female directors on the corporate board in Sweden. The empirical data was analyzed by the process of qualitative data analysis (QDA). We have increased the knowledge of female directors´ contributions on the corporate board in Sweden. Female directors do not posses a profound understanding of female customers. There is a strong link between female representatives and enhanced board communication. Furthermore, there is no relation between female directors and companies´ involvement in charitable activities. There is no difference in the way female and male directors monitor the board.</p>

Background: Gender equality has during recent years become a widelyresearched topic with mixed results. Recent studies show clear figures thatwomen are underrepresented on board of directors. The varying resultsindicate that it is a complex issue and that more evidence and knowledgemust be added.  Purpose: The purpose of this study is to analyze how the proportion ofwomen on company boards for Swedish companies affects the company'sperformance. We also study the critical mass among company boards on theNasdaq Stockholm. Methodology: In our study, we used a quantitative method with a deductiveapproach. We collected data on 216 companies and created our hypothesesfrom mainly upper echelon theory, critical mass theory and tokenism Conclusion: Our study finds that there is no significant effect on firmperformance when accounting for the number of women representatives onthe board of directors. Our results do align with the critical mass theory asfirm performance increases when women represent 30% of the board. Thishowever can not be statistically proven. / Bakgrund: Jämställdhet har under de senaste åren blivit ett mycket forskatämne med blandade resultat. Nyligen genomförda studier visar tydliga siffrorpå att kvinnor är underrepresenterade i styrelsen. De varierande resultatentyder på att det är ett komplext område och att mer bevis och kunskap måstetillföras. Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att analysera hur andelen kvinnor ibolagsstyrelser för svenska bolag påverkar bolags prestation. Vi studeraräven den kritiska massan bland bolagsstyrelserna på Nasdaq Stockholm. Metod: I vår studie använder vi en kvantitativ metod med ett deduktivtförhållningssätt. Vi samlade in data på 216 företag och skapade vårahypoteser från främst upper echelon teorin, teorin om kritisk massa ochtokenism. Slutsats: Vår studie finner att det inte finns någon signifikant skillnad påföretagets prestationer när man kollar på antalet kvinnliga representanter istyrelsen. Våra resultat överensstämmer med teorin om kritisk massa dåföretagets prestationer ökar när kvinnor representerar 30 % av styrelsen.Detta kan dock inte statistiskt bevisas.