Perceived roles of women directors on supervisory boards: Insights from a qualitative study

The (under-)representation of women on corporate boards is much debated among the public as well as in academia. In our exploratory article, we contribute to the literature by investigating women directors’ perceived roles by interviewing female as well as male board members and by employing the critical incident technique to address potential problems of social acceptancy. In the perception of board members, women directors fulfil three roles: they widen the boards’ perspectives and thus act as (unique) experts, they objectify discussions and they act as mediators.