[stolio]

Or, female CEO's are a more risky prospect than male CEO's and companies have different risk/reward motivations based on their situations. If a company's facing a tough grind for a few years they may be risk averse and stick with "safe bets" wherever they can.

Or, years of fighting "the patriarchy" has left females uniquely qualified to lead companies in the fight against changing market conditions.

Or, prospective female executives are probably very aware of the social and political climate we live in and that may make them more risk averse in regards to accepting positions, they may place a higher value on taking positions at companies on the upswing.

We can do this all day but I doubt the data's going to give a clear answer, we'll all see what we want to.