Project description
The role of women directors in preventing corporate misconduct
Corporate misconduct remains a challenge for firms and regulators, prompting growing interest in whether and how women directors can strengthen board oversight. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the ELITE-WoB project examines whether women’s presence on corporate boards can mitigate the misconduct risks associated with business and political connections while preserving their strategic benefits. The project also explores whether women directors face disproportionate career and reputational penalties following corporate misconduct. Using rigorous causal methods and large-scale panel data, the findings will inform policies and corporate governance practices that promote more accountable and effective boards across Europe.
Objective
Corporate misconduct remains a systemic challenge for European firms, producing not only fines and reputational losses but also systemic costs for markets and regulators. A critical source of this vulnerability lies in directors’ external connections. Multiple directorships and political ties can provide firms with valuable resources, networks, and access to government contracts. Yet these same connections may entrench executives, weaken oversight, and heighten the likelihood of misconduct. This project asks whether gender can alter this dynamic. Women directors—positively selected, reputation-constrained, and less embedded in “old boys’ clubs”—may diminish entrenchment and reinforce reputational oversight. Business-connected women, pressured by reputation, and politically-connected women, subject to heightened scrutiny, could allow firms to capture the benefits of connections without amplifying misconduct risks.
The project pursues two objectives. First, it will quantify whether business interlocks and political ties increase the risk of misconduct, and test whether women directors diminish these effects. Second, it will examine whether, after misconduct events, women directors face disproportionate accountability—higher turnover, slower reappointment, or reputational penalties—becoming scapegoats despite their potential role as safeguards. Methodologically, the project uses panel econometrics with firm and year fixed effects, IV, DiD around regulatory shocks, and propensity score matching to identify causal effects. Event-study and survival analyses will track post-misconduct career outcomes by gender. The findings will provide novel evidence on how gender reshapes the risks and consequences of elite connections in corporate boards, offering timely guidance for regulators and firms seeking more ethical and accountable governance in Europe.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project's classification has been human-validated.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project's classification has been human-validated.
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2025-PF
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
28040 Madrid
Spain
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.