Board Gender Diversity and Firm Valuation: Evidence from the Tunisian Stock Exchange

Board Gender Diversity and Firm Valuation: Evidence from the Tunisian Stock Exchange | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Board Gender Diversity and Firm Valuation: Evidence from the Tunisian Stock Exchange amira berrahal This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7327598/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Motivated by the evolving landscape of corporate governance—the system for directing and controlling firms—and the growing importance of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI), this study investigates their interplay with firm valuation. We examine the impact of board gender diversity and key financial variables on the market-to-book ratio of 38 Tunisian Stock Exchange companies (2019-2024). our questions are: What is the impact of the percentage of women on the board on the market-to-book ratio? And how do other financial factors influence this ratio? Using panel data analysis, our research reveals dividend policy and leverage positively influence market-to-book, while firm size has a negative impact. Interestingly, a higher percentage of women on the board is associated with a lower market-to-book ratio, contradicting expectations. These findings shed light on valuation drivers in an emerging market and underscore the complex role of board composition. Board Gender Diversity Market-to-Book Ratio Tunisian Stock Exchange Panel Data Analysis Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7327598","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":497726683,"identity":"8c01053e-b96a-4dd4-a456-22dd631cc5cc","order_by":0,"name":"amira berrahal","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABC0lEQVRIiWNgGAWjYFACxgYgcQDEYmNgKLCRA7EOPCBei0GaMVhLAmGr4FoOJ4JMYMCnhX/a4bYPPxjuyJnPPvzswQ+DtPT5YYcfAm2xk9NtwK5F4nZi88wehmfGMufSzA17DGxyN95OMwBqSTY2O4DDGqAWBh6Gw4kzeBjMJHgM0nI3zk4AaTmQuA2HFnmgFsY/DIfrZ/Cwf5P8Y3A43XB2+ge8WgyAWpiBtiRI8PCYSfMYHE6Ql87Bb4shSIuMwTPDGTw8ZdIyBmmGG6RzCg4kGOD2i9zt9MeMbyruyEvwsG+TfFNhIy8/O33zhw8VdnI4vQ9xHjL7ALoIQSDfQIrqUTAKRsEoGAkAAPQMX5zd/k33AAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"amira","middleName":"","lastName":"berrahal","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-08-08 13:15:46","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":true,"vertebrateSubjects":false,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":true,"humanSubjectConsent":true,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":true,"humanSubjectCaseReport":true,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7327598/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7327598/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":88766342,"identity":"e6d2e3a0-6c91-4ce3-b91c-9917703fc1a6","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-08-11 08:53:57","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":450012,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"BoardGenderDiversityandFirmValuation.article2.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7327598/v1_covered_aaef9fde-4159-41c5-b310-d35fa69ecc6c.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"The authors declare no competing interests.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003eBoard Gender Diversity and Firm Valuation: Evidence from the Tunisian Stock Exchange\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"Manouba University","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Board Gender Diversity, Market-to-Book Ratio, Tunisian Stock Exchange, Panel Data Analysis","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7327598/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7327598/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eMotivated by the evolving landscape of corporate governance—the system for directing and controlling firms—and the growing importance of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI), this study investigates their interplay with firm valuation. 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