Les femmes au pouvoir

This thesis finds that the French gender quota has negatively influenced firm value. In both the short-term and long-term analysis,a significant relationship is found between the number of female directors prior to the initiation of the quota in 2009 and firm value after 2009. The French gender quota is significantly associated with lower cash holdings and lower growth in terms of total assets, but no association with capital expenditures, leverage and revenue growth and profitability could be identified. This thesis contributes to the discussion on gender quota, because the empirical results suggest that quotas cause negative economic effects. The discussion is relevant because gender diversity policies are increasingly popular in Europe. This thesis enriches the literature on the pricethat ispaid for mandated gender diversity.