Board committees’ gender diversity: an investigative look at the engine rooms of decision-making

Purpose Board gender diversity is commonly analysed in studies of corporate governance, while the gender diversity of their committees (the engine rooms of decision-making) is often overlooked. This study aims to examine whether Australian listed companies exhibit similar rates of gender diversity among their boards and committees, consistent or varied board and committee gender diversity across industry sectors and whether board diversity relative to committee diversity changed after the implementation of enhanced gender targets. Social role theory guides the development of this paper’s research propositions and facilitates the interpretation of its findings. Design/methodology/approach Data analysis of secondary source data gathered from a combination of databases and manual collection from the 2018–2020 annual reports of randomly selected Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) listed top 300 companies. Findings There were pronounced variations in female representation between the entire boards and their respective committees. Most committees had higher gender diversity than their respective boards. Differences in board and committee gender diversity were observed across industries. Furthermore, the growth in the representation of women on boards and committees increased incrementally, but unevenly, from 2018 to 2020. Such differences support the conclusion that corporate governance diversity studies should broaden beyond board diversity to consider committee gender diversity. Research limitations/implications The findings offer future research insights for academics studying gender diversity in corporate governance. Practical implications The results provide insights for companies, stock exchange policymakers, regulators, governments and diversity advocates regarding the varying gender diversity in key corporate decision-making committees. Originality/value This study compares board and committee gender diversity. Corporate governance diversity studies have generally focused on board diversity.