A Bibliometric Analysis of Board Gender Diversity in the Perceptive of Social Equity: A Science Mapping and Performance Analysis in the Banking Sector

Abstract

Gender equality is becoming a well-discussed phenomenon among scholars, policymakers, and governments, particularly after the emphasis on gender equality goals by the United Nations. As a result, women increasingly occupy higher managerial positions within the firm hierarchy in the banking sector to achieve social equity which is only possible to address the gender disparity issue. That is why the literature on female representation in corporate boards has dramatically increased in recent years, proving unequivocally that specific traits of women favorably influence many domains inside the organization. However, the conflicting empirical evidence regarding the significance of gender board diversity (GBD) leads scholars to revisit the underpinning theories and literature. The current study conducted a bibliometric analysis to evaluate scholarly papers concerning female participation on governing boards from 2012-22. The Scopus database was used for document extractions, and 792 publications were included in the bibliometric analysis. The findings emphasize important journals, institutes, countries, pertinent authors, and research on this issue. The United States, the United Kingdom, and Spain are the most dominant regions, and University Utara Malaysia is the leading institute in publications. Journal of Business Ethics is the primary source of publication, and García-Sánchez is the most contributing author based on article metric. The study also reported the five major research themes: board structure and composition, CSR disclosure and sustainability, the financial impact of board gender diversity (BGD), demographic diversity, and the significance of female CEOs in decision-making opening new research areas for scholars and practitioners. The study will be helpful in theoretically supporting the concept of GBD in the banking sector and highlighting the reasons for conflicting findings from the prior studies that will be useful in achieving sustainable organizational goals.