In this study, the author investigates the evolving role of women in corporate boardrooms historically dominated by men, aiming to discern whether their inclusion merely serves as symbolic representation or carries substantive impact. Using a narrative literature review methodology, the author meticulously examines the historical impediments women faced in leadership positions. The findings suggest that deep-seated societal biases, rather than a lack of capability, traditionally constrained women’s leadership trajectories. While some studies suggest that corporations with genuine gender diversity in leadership may outperform in financial outcomes and innovation, this advantage is not consistently observed across all contexts and industries, necessitating a cautious interpretation of these mixed and context-dependent findings. The study argues that women’s inclusion in boardrooms is a strategic imperative for modern corporations striving for resilience, adaptability, and sustained growth in an intricate global landscape, yet also recommends further research to fully understand the broader impacts of such diversity. Furthermore, the study offers practical strategies for enhancing gender diversity in corporate leadership.

This paper analyses wherever top executives were born and wherever they attended university to reveal regional groupings of the executives that form company culture and strategy in China and the mechanisms by which they affect corporate performance. It was found that the personal histories of top executives affect their decision-making orientation, and, in turn, company culture. The personal histories of executives and intra-regional, intra-provincial and intra-city links of corporate headquarters were obvious factors for executive selection. Distances were higher, and percentages of intra-regional links were lower for higher profit and growth companies. This shows that more competitive companies are more likely to hire executives who have lived in different regions or institutions in their lifetimes and university educations. The study concludes that Chinese firms’ key choices are influenced, in part, by external geographic factors way more advanced than the self-operation of individual enterprises.