Corporate governance, gender diversity and risk-taking behaviour of banks in an emerging economy – some empirical evidence from Ghana

Purpose: This study aims to examine the relationship between corporate governance, including board gender diversity and bank risk-taking behaviour in Ghana. Design/methodology/approach: This research uses panel corrected standard errors estimation on 26 selected banks over an 11-year period from 2006 to 2016. Findings: Using three proxies for bank risk-taking and two proxies for gender diversity for the purposes of checking robustness, this study finds ample evidence to support the important influence of corporate governance and board gender diversity on bank risk-taking behaviour. The findings suggest that independence, gender diversity, size and leadership consolidation can have significant effects on the risk profile of banking firms. The initial finding of the study suggests the possibility that female board gender diversity on Ghanaian banking boards follows the tokenism theory. Subsequent estimations seem to provide evidence to suggest that attaining a critical mass of female board members imposes a significant control on risk-taking behaviour by banks. Originality/value: This study has important implications for gender diversity in board construction within the banking sector and the discourse on bank risk-taking in an emerging market context.