How Gender Diversity Shapes Cities: Evidence from Risk Management Decisions in REITs

41 Pages Posted: 7 Aug 2023

See all articles by Avis Devine

Avis Devine

York University - Schulich School of Business

Isabelle Jolin

John Molson School of Business, Concordia University

Nils Kok

School of Business and Economics, Maastricht University

Erkan Yönder

John Molson School of Business, Concordia University

Date Written: January 30, 2023

Abstract

In this paper, we study the impact of CEO and board gender diversity on the risk management decisions of 179 U.S. Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) during the 2001 to 2018 period. Using a bottom-up analysis on the properties in REIT portfolios, we find significant risk reduction associated with gender-diverse REIT leadership. We document that REITs with a woman CEO, in combination with more women on the board have less active trading and a longer hold period of assets. In addition, REITs with more gender-diverse leadership are more geographically focused, which for REITs is considered a lower risk investment strategy. Finally, REITs with more gender-diverse leadership are more actively investing in environmentally sustainable real estate. We conclude that gender diversity in real estate firms carries real-life implications for U.S. cities, given their key role as developers, owners, and operators in the built environment.

Keywords: Board Diversity, Gender, Real Estate, Risk Preferences, Cities, Green Buildings

JEL Classification: G12, G20, J16, R3

Suggested Citation

Devine, Avis and Jolin, Isabelle and Kok, Nils and Yönder, Erkan, How Gender Diversity Shapes Cities: Evidence from Risk Management Decisions in REITs (January 30, 2023). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4531581 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4531581

Avis Devine

York University - Schulich School of Business ( email )

4700 Keele Street
Toronto, Ontario M3J 1P3
Canada

HOME PAGE: http://schulich.yorku.ca/faculty/avis-devine/

Isabelle Jolin

John Molson School of Business, Concordia University ( email )

Montreal
Canada

Nils Kok

School of Business and Economics, Maastricht University ( email )

P.O. Box 616
Maastricht, 6200 MD
Netherlands

HOME PAGE: http://www.maastrichtrealestate.com

Erkan Yönder (Contact Author)

John Molson School of Business, Concordia University ( email )

Montreal
Canada

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