The paper studies the representation of women in top corporate positions and the workers’ share of firms’ income. Using a large panel of European firms and identification from a shift–share instrument, the author estimates the effect of gender board diversity on the labor share. In the preferred specification, a 10 percentage point increase in gender board diversity is associated with a 0.75 percentage point rise in the labor share. The effect is stronger in services, in smaller firms, and among firms with persistently low productivity. A counterfactual analysis demonstrates a high semi-elasticity of employment as the driving mechanism behind these findings.
