"Do Women in Powerful Positions Influence Firm Cash Holdings? Evidence from the United Kingdom"

Published in the International Journal of Accounting

Authors:
Camilla Ciappei, Department of Economics and Management - University of Padua
Andrea Bafundi, Department of Economics and Management - University of Padua
Giovanni Liberatore, University of Florence

Women lead only 17% of UK SMEs, yet almost all prior gender-related research focuses on listed firms.
This study fills that gap by analysing 6,688 private UK firms (2017–2021) and measuring women’s actual power inside companies through their presence among the top-paid quartile.

Key findings:
Firms with more women in powerful positions hold more cash.
Evidence supports an inverted U-shaped relationship between women’s power and cash holdings.
Firms with stronger female representation at the top are more likely to direct cash toward R&D rather than capital expenditure.

The results contribute to understanding intragroup gender differences and highlight the role of female leadership in private firms, offering insights for investors, managers and policymakers.

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