New data indicates female golfers are 54% more likely to serve on corporate boards than male golfers

Studying the role of social capital through golf games, NUS Business School and the Department of Real Estate at the NUS School of Design and Environment found that social networks often operate on gender lines, suggesting that women who participate in male-dominated social activities such as golf, are more accepted on predominantly male corporate boards.

The NUS study analysed a data set of over 10,580 golfers and more than 1,640 directors which was generated from two main sources of information from 2000 to 2014:

  1. Directors of over 430 Singapore-based firms listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange over this 15-year period1, where they have actively traded over the last two years; and
  2. Golfers’ handicap books from the same period matching directors with their golfing statistics.

Among the board of directors, 90.6% are male. The researchers also found that nine in 10 golfers are male.

The research also showed women are 89% less likely to serve on corporate boards of listed firms than men. However, golfing facilitates women’s directorships in publicly-traded companies.

Specifically, women who play golf are 90% more likely to serve on a board compared to women who do not play golf.

This advantage of playing golf was also more pronounced for female golfers than male golfers. Compared to male golfers, female golfers exhibit a 54% greater chance to serve on a corporate board.

The study also illustrated that this trend is more evident among firms with larger market capitalisation where female golfers are 125% more likely to serve on a board compared to their male counterparts. In small firms, playing golf did not affect female board membership.

Professor Sumit Agarwal, Visiting Professor of the Department of Finance at NUS Business School commented, “There is evidence of a gender glass ceiling, but there are means to overcome gender disparity. To mitigate this glass ceiling in corporate boards, women should not feel hindered but participate more freely in activities associated with career progression. In this case, golf is seen as effective in boosting women’s representation on corporate boards.”

Through the results, the ability to get on the board despite hierarchy gives evidence that social capital is at play, given larger firms are presumably more hierarchical. The use of social capital is reinforced when studying industries that have low female representation.

The study highlighted that women golfers were 117% more likely to serve on the board of directors in industries with low female representation, compared to their male counterparts. It was observed that industries with low female representation also typically have prohibitive barriers to networking.

“Social capital and networking foster career outcomes in the executive labour market. While these work for men and women, women’s involvement in a male-dominated social activity such as golf appears to enhance their chances of being appointed to the board in a large listed company,” added Prof Sumit.