How are corporations influenced by large scale local street protests? Focusing on the wave of Women’s Marches in the U.S. from 2017 to 2020, we find S&P 1500 firms were more likely to add female directors to their corporate boards following larger street protests in their headquarters locale. We argue this proximal-protest effect reflects existing boards interpreting street protests as signals of relative local support for the national women’s movement—signals to which they can respond by prioritizing gender equity in their own ranks. We find this effect is stronger for companies that are diversity laggards, rather than leaders, as measured by a history of diversity violations, and by a weaker employee diversity climate prior to the protests. The proximal-protest effect is also stronger for firms headquartered in less-liberal locales, consistent with the notion that the signals sent by the protests are more informative for the boards of companies in such locales.
The presentation will be by Dr. Forrest Briscoe, Dr. Mark Desjardine and Muhan Zhang from the Department of Management and Organization, who will present their work, "City Street Protests and Corporate Diversity: Evidence from the Women’s Marches and Corporate Boards." We ask that those interested in attending register early by using this form. The Zoom link is in the registration form. Registrants should contact Tracey Mariner (tcd119@psu.edu) with any questions.