Women on Boards in Italy

Female presence still concerns the minority of companies and a small number of women; female directorship is associated to some characteristics of firms and of women themselves, depending in particular on whether they have family links with controlling agents. Two very different models emerge. On the one hand, family-affiliated women are more present in smaller companies, with a concentrated ownership, in the consumers sector. On the other hand, not-affiliated women are more common in widely held companies or in firms owned by a foreign shareholder, in the high technology sector, and in companies with younger and more independent boards.