An Exploration of Gender, Interlocking Directorates, and Family Firms

Abstract

This study examines the spatiality of interlocking directorates of Canadian companies, with specific focus on those connections that include female directors and family firms. The goal of this study was to explore the spatial relationship between headquarters location of the corporate boards on which they sit. First, it was found that a geographical relationship in the interlocking network of female directors exist. Female directors follow a similar urban hierarchy as previous research. Second, female directors interlock intra-regionally. The study also explored intra- and inter-city as well as intra- and inter-regional interlocking. It was found intra-regional interlocks dominated for each region across Canada except the West. Again, this is attributed to females sitting on FCFs and interlocking interregionally. Additionally, females of FCFs were more likely to interlock nonlocally than their male counterparts, but also more than females of nonFCFs.