The Role of Female Directors and Their Profound Impact on Management Effectiveness in Taiwan’s Banking Industry

This study examines the impact of the proportion of female directors on the efficiency of financial institutions in Taiwan. Using data from financial holding companies between 2021 and 2023, the analysis employs Network Data Envelopment Analysis (NDEA) to capture the efficiency of multi-department operations and the transmission of resources within banks. The results indicate that institutions with a higher proportion of female directors exhibit greater overall efficiency and more stable performance across departments, suggesting that gender-diverse boards enhance decision-making quality and risk management capabilities. Pearson correlation analysis further reveals a significant positive relationship between the number of female directors and total efficiency, highlighting the role of gender diversity in optimizing resource allocation and strategic decisions. This study makes several contributions: it integrates gender diversity into bank efficiency evaluation, providing empirical evidence on the influence of female directors; it demonstrates the advantages of NDEA over traditional DEA in assessing complex organizational structures; and it situates the findings within Taiwan’s corporate governance context, linking empirical results to policy and managerial implications. The findings offer practical guidance for regulators and banking management, emphasizing the importance of board composition in promoting efficiency, stability, and sound governance in the financial sector.