Do Women Use Annual Reports Differently Than Men? A Case of India
Meena Bhatia
This study uses gender in financial research. The purpose is to examine women investors' perceptions of the importance and understanding of sections of annual reports and problems that restrict utility. It also explores the perception towards the other announcements made by the corporates. Data was collected using a questionnaire sent to 700 individual investors. Descriptive statistics and non-parametric tests were used to analyse the data received from 341 respondents (48.71% response rate). Results indicated a significant difference between the frequency of use of annual reports and other announcements amongst both genders. Understanding various sections of annual reports is better for male investors than female investors. Women investors' deficiencies in annual report utility had various implications for practitioners, standard setters, and regulatory bodies. Drastic improvements are needed in the awareness programmes for women investors.
Published in: Global Business and Economics Review, Vol. 29, No. 2