Companies with greater female representation on their boards of directors tend to have better workplace safety records, according to research from the University of Notre Dame.

The study, published in the Journal of Operations Management, found that organisations with more women in board positions had fewer workplace accidents and injuries. However, researchers noted that simply adding women to boards wasn’t enough to achieve these benefits.

“Their influence on future workplace safety increases significantly when they hold powerful positions on key board committees because they feel more comfortable speaking up and get better traction on their ideas,” said Associate Professor Kaitlin Wowak from Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business.

Professor Wowak, along with Assistant Professor Yoonseock Son from Notre Dame and Professor Corinne Post from Villanova University, analysed a unique dataset covering 1,442 firm-year observations across 266 firms from 2002 to 2011.

The team examined OSHA workplace safety data and director-level variables from Institutional Shareholder Services, along with information from Violation Tracker including fines and penalties levied by US regulatory agencies, the US Department of Justice, and state attorneys general.

The research found that boards with higher female representation prioritised and enhanced workplace safety, likely because women directors tended to consider a wider range of stakeholders in their decision-making, exhibited greater risk aversion and favoured regulatory compliance.

These findings were supported by prior studies showing that female directors often have more experience in community outreach and philanthropy than their male counterparts, making them more likely to advocate for prosocial issues. The researchers said women were more likely to show greater consideration and care for employee wellbeing, including a desire not to cause harm in their decision-making.

Greater focus on risk aversion and regulatory compliance at board level may also improve rule-following and protocols for properly using equipment. For example, boards could request that management monitor and report on safety precautions.

With workplace accidents estimated to cost US employers more than $170 billion annually, University of Notre Dame Professor Son said the findings could help organisations avoid prioritising efficiency at all costs, which is a critical determinant of unsafe work behaviours.

“A board with more women will specifically ask the top management team to report to them on workplace safety,” Professor Son said. “Women will set the tone at the top that employees must strictly follow rules, including safety guidelines.”

In an extension of their main analysis, the team examined racial and ethnic minority representation on boards and found similar results. The researchers suggested this was because both groups have unique safety-relevant social perspectives while sharing the characteristics of being underrepresented board members whose views tend to be overlooked.

The study also found a synergistic effect when both female and minority board representation increased together.

“With more females in the upper echelons, the effect of similar minority representation on future workplace safety becomes even stronger, and vice versa,” Professor Wowak said.

As the first study to suggest that board diversity can enhance a firm’s operations through workplace safety benefits, the researchers recommended that companies appoint women and minorities to influential board committees and strengthen accountability measures.

“Having power reduces their inhibitions, limits interference from others and provides more opportunities to speak up and steer discussions,” Professor Son said. “And boards facing greater scrutiny are more likely to leverage their unique perspectives.”