Evaluating the gender effect in the banking performance: An ownership-based analysis in Turkish banking sector

The aim of this study is to evaluate the gender effect in the banking performance. Within this scope, annual data belonging to 15 Turkish deposit banks for the period of 2002-2016 is analyzed by using Dumitrescu-Hurlin panel causality test. As a result of this analysis, it is defined that there is a causality relationship from gender to the profitability. In other words, it is concluded that employing women has a positive influence on the financial performance of the banking sector. Additionally, it is also identified that employing women is the significant indicator of profitability for private banks whereas there is no such a causal relationship for other types of the banks. Therefore, it is recommended that Turkish banks should increase the ratio of female workers to improve their financial performance.