When Bill Rolls Off: Continuity and Change on Corporate Boards

Abstract

The number of women on public company boards has increased dramatically in recent years.
We study where these women directors came from and how they were absorbed. In the past
five years, women with board experience obtain significantly more board seats than their male
colleagues. Women directors are also more likely to have no previous board experience than men,
indicating movement on both the intensive and extensive margin. Adding a woman director is
associated with a transitory increase in board size about a third of the time. This increase
reverts the following year when an existing director rolls off.