Board gender diversity, non-executive directors composition and corporate performance: evidence from listed firms in Nigeria

This paper examined the nexus between board gender diversity, non-executive director’s composition and corporate performance (return on asset) of listed firms on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. Ex-post facto research design was employed and agency theory formed the basis of theoretical framework of the study. Data of board gender diversity, non-executive director’s composition and return on asset were obtained for seventy-two listed firms during the period 2006 to 2016. The data obtained were analyzed by means of Ordinary Least Square (OLS) estimation technique. The analyses revealed that board gender diversity has substantial effect on corporate performance (return on asset) of listed firms on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. Contrarily, non-executive director’s composition has no significant effect. On the basis of the findings, it was recommended that listed firms should give more value to diversity in their board composition. Also, firms should pay less attention to the composition of their board, but rather focus on quality and integrity of members of the board. More importantly, the regulatory bodies like Security and Exchange Commission and Central Bank of Nigeria, should set standards for the inclusion of reasonable number of women on the board of listed firms in Nigeria.   Key words: Board gender diversity, non-executive director’s composition, return on asset, corporate governance.