Gender Diversity and Firm Profitability, before and during the Covid-19 Pandemic

The intense competition in business will lead company managers to ensure their business is performing at its best. The board of directors' choice will always impact whether the company's value rises or falls. The argument that companies with female executives make better judgments for shareholders has led to a noticeable trend of raising the participation of women on boards in several nations throughout the world during the past decade. Male directors tend to be risk-takers, whereas female directors are more risk-averse, making them more effective decision-makers in some situations. When making complicated decisions, women on the board typically digest information more effectively and efficiently than a board made up entirely of men. This study examines if having more women on boards of directors increases company profitability. This study examines how gender diversity influences the impact of the board of directors (BOD) and independent directors (ID) on business profitability throughout two time periods—before and during COVID-19 – Pandemic. This study's sample comprises 40 Food and Beverage firms listed on the Indonesian Capital Market between 2011 and 2021. The F & B industry was chosen as a research topic because it is considered to be able to survive in difficult times. Panel data regression was used to estimate the research models. Before Covid 19 - Pandemic, BOD size significantly negatively influenced firm profitability, whereas ID positively impacted firm profitability. The presence of women on the board significantly mitigates the negative impact of the BOD on firm profitability. During the Pandemic, BOD had no significant impact on corporate profitability. Nonetheless, ID has a negative impact on company profitability. Surprisingly, this condition demonstrates that the presence of women on the BOD strengthened the influence of the BOD and ID on firm profitability. Increasing women's participation on boards of directors is one way to enhance their performance.