Genderdiversiteit bij bestuursleden en earnings quality Een analyse van Belgische beursgenoteerde ondernemingen

Koenraad Block Bart Kuijper Louis Lesage
Persbericht

Genderdiversiteit bij bestuursleden en earnings quality Een analyse van Belgische beursgenoteerde ondernemingen

‘Quota voor vrouwen in raad van bestuur werpen hun vruchten af’

Beursgenoteerde vennootschappen die een algemeen beleid voeren met aandacht voor gelijke kansen tussen mannen en vrouwen rapporteren winstcijfers van een hogere kwaliteit. Onze masterproef bevestigt het belang van genderdiversiteit binnen de raden van bestuur en ondersteunt de invoering van de Belgische quotawet.

Quotawet

België keurde in 2011 het wetsvoorstel goed dat, in de raden van bestuur van alle Belgische beursgenoteerde vennootschappen, tegen 2017 minstens één derde vrouwen moet zetelen. De quotawet heeft als doel een eind te maken aan de mannenbastions die veel grote bedrijven nog altijd zijn, het gelijke kansen beleid tussen mannen en vrouwen te bevorderen en vrouwen een kans te geven op een topfunctie. Op deze  manier gaat men de strijd aan tegen het glazen plafond dat vrouwen belemmert carrière te maken en dus topfuncties onmogelijk maakt. Tegenstanders van de wet argumenteren dat de verplichte invoering een belemmering is voor het bedrijfsleven en de zoektocht naar geschikte vrouwelijke bestuurskandidaten eerder een kwestie van kwantiteit dan kwaliteit zal zijn. Echter uit internationale studies blijkt dat raden van bestuur waarin de man-vrouw verhouding (genaamd genderdiversiteit) optimaal is, zij betere financiële resultaten behalen. Vrouwen nemen namelijk minder risico’s dan mannen en ze zorgen voor een betere doorstroming van informatie waardoor de transparantie binnen de raad van bestuur stijgt, die voordien enkel uit mannelijke leden bestond. Daarnaast behoeden ze zich meer voor claims en reputatieschade en kunnen zij Corporate Governance (goed bestuur) verbeteren. Rekening houdend met de voordelen van genderdiversiteit en de moeilijkheid om geschikte kandidaten te vinden, hebben minder grote beursgenoteerde ondernemingen twee jaar meer tijd, tot 2019, om aan de verplichtte quota te voldoen.

Ons onderzoek: invloed op de gerapporteerde winst?

Ons onderzoek, op Belgisch niveau, bevestigt de internationale context van hogere kwaliteit van de gerapporteerde winst in relatie tot een stijgend aantal vrouwen in de raad van bestuur. Als we bijkomend ook rekening houden met de grootte van de onderneming aan de hand van de verschillende Belgische beursindexen, zien we een nuance. Grootte (Bel20) of kleine (Belsmall) beursgenoteerde ondernemingen vertonen een hogere kwaliteit van de gerapporteerde winstcijfers in relatie tot een stijgend aantal vrouwen in de raad van bestuur. Onze resultaten zijn een argument om de invoering van de quota wet, tegen 2017 voor grote ondernemingen, en tegen 2019 voor kleinere beursgenoteerde ondernemingen niet in vraag te stellen.

De gunstige invloed van genderdiversiteit  kan niet altijd aangetoond worden. Ons onderzoek heeft naast de raad van bestuur ook de invloed onderzocht van een vrouwelijk gedelegeerd bestuurder (CEO), die de taken van het dagelijks bestuur op zich neemt, en een vrouwelijke financieel directeur (CFO), die verantwoordelijk is voor de voorbereiding van de financiële cijfers. Onze resultaten kunnen geen gunstig effect aantonen van een vrouwelijke CEO of CFO op de kwaliteit van de gerapporteerde winstcijfers. De huidige quotawet legt enkel verplichtingen op binnen de raad van bestuur, en niet op het niveau van het hoger management (CEO en CFO). Ons onderzoek bevestigt dat de afbakening van de quotawet enkel voor de raad van bestuur, en niet voor het hoger management de goede keuze is.

Besluit

Genderdiversiteit in de maatschappij en in het bedrijfsleven is een uiterst actueel onderwerp. We tonen het gunstig effect aan op de kwaliteit van de gerapporteerde winstcijfers. Onze resultaten ondersteunen de keuze van de wetgever voor de verplichtte invoering van de quotawet.

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Universiteit of Hogeschool
master in de accountancy en het revisoraat
Publicatiejaar
2014
Kernwoorden
koenraadblock
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