Title: The effect of female supervisors on the structure and dynamics of the management board

Authors: Johannes Carow

Addresses: JGU Mainz, Jakob-Welder-Weg 4, 55128 Mainz, Germany

Abstract: I analyse the effect of female supervisors on the structure and dynamics of the management board in publicly listed German firms between 2011 and 2019. Regarding structure, I confirm that female shareholder representatives on the remuneration and personnel committee foster female management board representation. In terms of dynamics, the results indicate that female supervisors increase the likelihood of turnover of CEOs, CFOs and CHROs. The effect is driven by female employee representatives. I provide further detailed mechanisms of female employee representatives on committees on turnover of specific executives. I thereby contribute to a better understanding of interactions between both boards in a two-tier system with codetermination.

Keywords: board gender diversity; gender spillovers; executive turnover.

DOI: 10.1504/IJCG.2026.152092

International Journal of Corporate Governance, 2026 Vol.16 No.1, pp.1 - 37

Accepted: 14 Oct 2025
Published online: 06 Mar 2026 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article