Gender in Top Management and Capital Structure in Chilean Companies

Abstract

The contribution of women in the strategic management of companies is a topic that gains increasing relevance each day. Therefore, the present research aims to analyze whether the participation of women in boards of directors and frontline management positions, in Chilean companies that report their financial statements to the Financial Market Commission (CMF), has an impact on the capital structure of these companies. The research is of a quantitative, descriptive, and correlational nature. It involved a sample of 74 companies for the period from 2020 to 2022, resulting in 714 quarterly observations. These observations were analyzed using panel data methodology with random and fixed effects, based on an unbalanced database. The results indicate a relationship between the capital structure and the level of indebtedness concerning the percentage of women in frontline management. However, no significant evidence was found for the association between women's participation in boards and the capital structure.