More Female Executives Means Less Tax Evasion, Study Finds

[eridani]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-12/more-female-executives-means-less-tax-evasion-study-finds

Want to make sure your company is ethical and law abiding? New research says hire more women.

Greater gender diversity in the boardroom and in the C-suite results in more honest financial decision making, according to a study released Thursday from Wake Forest University and University of North Carolina-Wilmington. Women in executive roles are less likely to cheat on taxes or lie about finances than men, the study found.

The research looked at associations between chief financial officer gender, board diversity and instances of corporate tax evasion from 1991 to 2011. The authors found that women CFOs were less likely to stiff the IRS than their male counterparts.

“Studies have found that women and men make ethical decisions differently,” Ya-wen Yang, a co-author of the study and assistant professor of accounting at Wake Forest University School of Business, said in a statement. “Overall, women are more ethical and less likely to take risks than men.”