This study investigates how women’s inclusion in leadership positions affects financial risk in China’s hotel industry, integrating gender role theory with agency theory. Test results of dynamic panel regressions with the two-step SYS-GMM estimation reveal three key insights, providing empirical evidence that strategic gender diversity in leadership can serve as a financial risk management tool. First, both women’s inclusion in executive (EWI) and board (BWI) positions significantly reduce firm-specific risk but have no impact on market-wide risk. Second, the study identifies a U-shaped relationship, with firm-specific risk minimized at optimal inclusion levels of 29.21% (EWI) and 24.20% (BWI). Third, the risk-mitigating effect of EWI and BWI is asymmetric, specifically stronger during economic expansions than recessions, reflecting the hospitality sector’s cyclical nature. The study contributes theoretical value by bridging theories with financial risk analysis in hospitality contexts and offers practical guidance for hotel firms in optimizing leadership structures.
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