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International Journal of Disclosure and Governance· 2026Q2

Influence of the mentoring relationship between board chairs and women CEOs on firm performance in Australia: a social role perspective

Jyoti Devi Mahadeo, Marie dela Rama, David Wastell

Short summary

In Australian ASX-100 firms, mentoring from board chairs does not close the gender gap for women CEOs and may even widen it, according to a social role theory analysis of 2010-2020 data.

AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.

Key points

  • Mentoring by board chairs does not improve the representation of women CEOs in Australian ASX-100 firms.
  • The study suggests that mentoring outcomes may actually widen the gender gap for women in C-suite roles.
  • The research applies social role theory to understand the dynamics between board chairs, women CEOs, and firm performance.
  • Data from Australian Stock Exchange 100 companies between 2010 and 2020 were analyzed using two-stage least squares regression.

AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.

Abstract

Abstract Underrepresentation of women in CEO and board-chair roles persists despite decades of scholarly effort, posing a major societal concern by depriving societies of the positive contributions of women’s leadership. While existing studies have predominantly investigated boards’ monitoring and advisory roles, our study departs from this tradition by examining the mentoring role of board-chairs. We aim to identify why the CEO role remains male dominated and specifically investigate whether the ultimate objective outcomes of mentoring contribute to the women’s scarcity in C-suite roles in Australia. We draw on the social role theory to study whether the gender of the board-chair (man or woman) affects the relationship between a woman CEO and company performance. Using a two-stage least squares regression on Australian Stock Exchange 100 (ASX-100) companies from 2010 to 2020, our findings indicate that the outcomes of diverse mentoring not only fail to close the gender gap but may actually exacerbate it within ASX-100 firms.

The authors' abstract, as published at the source. International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, 2026 · DOI ↗

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Field: Gender Studies

Gender StudiesSocial Sciences