Das, Sumon KumarAlam, ShafiqulDey, Pappu KumarAkter, Rupa2025-06-022025-06-022025-05-19Das , S K , Alam , S , Dey , P K & Akter , R 2025 , ' From boardroom to executive suite: exploring the trickle-down effect of gender diversity in an emerging economy ' , Equality, Diversity and Inclusion , vol. 44 , no. 9 , pp. 184-207 . https://doi.org/10.1108/EDI-11-2024-053969713866http://hdl.handle.net/10138/596782Purpose: This paper investigates whether women’s representation on corporate boards influences women’s presence in senior management in an emerging economy.  Design/methodology/approach: This study utilizes a sample of publicly traded firms from 2018 to 2022. We employ the ordinary least squares and logistic regression models to test the hypotheses and apply the instrumental variable approach and propensity score matching to mitigate potential endogeneity concerns.  Findings: Our empirical results show that board gender diversity (BGD) is positively associated with both a higher probability of women’s inclusion and greater representation of women in the top management team (TMT) consistent with the trickle-down perspective. Our further investigation shows that the higher probability and proportion of women’s presence is statistically significant and stronger when three or more women participate in boardrooms, indicating the critical mass effect of women directors. The findings remain robust to endogeneity concerns, as tested using the instrumental variable approach and propensity score matching, and alternative measures of BGD and women’s presence in TMT.  Practical implications: The findings offer insight into the benefits of BGD from the perspectives of developing countries. Policymakers and regulators may consider the findings, while formulating new regulations or recommendations to promote gender equity.  Originality/value: This paper provides novel evidence of the influence of BGD on women’s representation in top management from the emerging economy perspective. It further adds to the literature showcasing that the impact varies with the level of board diversity, indicating the critical mass effect.24476153engcc_byinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess512 Business and Managementboard gender diversitycritical massemerging economygender diversity in managementtop management teamtrickle-down effectKOTA2025?PREM00001 - Publication available open access by the publisher2 - Hybrid open access publication channel1 - Self archivedhttp://hdl.handle.net/10138/5967821- Minst en av författarna har en utländsk affiliation1- Publicerad utomlands0- Ingen affiliation med ett företagArticleopenAccess10500554330277c12ce8-10ab-4045-a9e3-8ff4055b6eeb