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Breaking The Glass Ceiling: The Impact Of Boardroom Diversity On The Gender Pay Gap

Heuvel, Bastiënne van den (2025) Breaking The Glass Ceiling: The Impact Of Boardroom Diversity On The Gender Pay Gap.

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Abstract:This bachelor thesis investigates the relationship between boardroom diversity and the gender pay gap in large firms based in the United Kingdom. Boardroom diversity is considered through two dimensions: gender diversity (share of female executives) and nationality diversity (origin of executives with attention to gender quota policies). The gender pay gap, a persistent indicator of structural inequality, may be influenced by the composition of top level leadership teams. Using a cross-sectional dataset of 1280 companies, this study merges UK government gender pay gap disclosures with board composition data from Orbis. The analysis employs multivariate regression, interaction models and non-linear robustness checks to assess the relationship between leadership diversity and gender-based pay disparities. Control variables include company size, industry type, and public or private sector status. The results show that gender diversity in executive leadership is significantly associated with a lower gender pay gap, particularly when the portion of female executives exceeds the 30% threshold, supporting the critical mass theory.
Item Type:Essay (Bachelor)
Faculty:BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences
Subject:85 business administration, organizational science
Programme:International Business Administration BSc (50952)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/106719
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