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This paper aims to examine the relationship between the characteristics of the board of directors and the distribution of dividends. This study specifically examines the effect of gender diversity on dividend payout for French SBF companies using panel data.

This study examines a sample of 70 non-financial French companies from the SBF 120 index from 2011 to 2019. A quantile regression approach is applied to the empirical analysis since it offers a more comprehensive description of the entire conditional distribution of the dividend payout and not only its average as in classical linear regression. The main goal is to investigate whether the impact of gender diversity characteristics varies among the different quantiles of the dividend conditional distribution.

The findings reveal distinct effects of gender board characteristics on dividend distribution across various levels. Furthermore, this study investigates the nonlinear relationship between female directors and dividend payout. This paper identifies an inverted U-shaped relationship between female directors and dividend payout, which aligns with the critical mass theory.

Quantile regression method offers a better understanding of the impact of female representation at different levels of the distributions of the dividend payout ratio. This surpasses the limitations of simple linear regression models, which focus exclusively on the impact on the mean.

The objective of authorities should extend beyond merely achieving a numerical quota. Instead, they should focus on ensuring a substantial and meaningful representation of women in decision-making positions. This may involve implementing initiatives dedicated to promoting genuine diversity and achieving a balance of skills, experiences and perspectives within governance bodies.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that examines the impact of gender diversity on dividend payout policy for non-financial French companies using the quantile regression technique.