Gender diversity in the governance of the Nigerian securities market

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to identify the key determinants of stock market performance in Nigeria. More specifically, it is an attempt to determine the effect of gender diversity in leadership roles on the performance of the stock market in Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses annual data from 1980 through 2011 to model the development and performance of the Nigerian stock market through a modified Calderon-Rossell approach. Specifically, the leadership role of women in the governance of the stock market is investigated. Robust regression approach is used to avoid complications associated with the violations of the assumptions underlying the application of ordinary least squares regression. Findings – The empirical analysis shows that level of income, real exchange rate, liquidity, banking sector development, institutional quality, macroeconomic stability and gender are important determinants of stock market performance in the Nigerian stock market. Further, the results indicate that at worst, gender diversity does not play into stock market performance in Nigeria, and at its best, the appointment of women in the management of the Nigerian Stock Exchange is associated with better performance. Originality/value – The paper contributes to the empirical literature on the role of gender diversity and financial performance. The contribution of this paper is the inclusion of gender as an institutional factor among the determinants of stock market performance in Nigeria.