Banking disclosure and banking crises in Africa: does board gender diversity play a role?

The paper investigates the impact of board gender diversity on the relationship between bank information disclosure and the predicted probability of banking crises in Africa. Using panel data for banks in 42 African countries over 2006–2018 and robust estimation techniques, the study finds that board gender diversity—both the number of women on boards and the presence of at least one woman—positively influences banks’ information disclosure. Both board gender diversity and bank disclosure are associated with a lower predicted probability of a banking crisis. Moreover, gender-diverse boards enhance the reductive effect of disclosure on the likelihood of crisis, implying that women on boards contribute to prudent disclosure decisions that help stabilize banking systems.