摘要:This article aims at studying the influence of boardroom attributes on access to leverage in the French context. The
empirical findings lead to several interesting results. They reveal a negative relation between the number of female
directors on the board and the total and long-term leverage ratios. Due likely to the risk aversion of women, firms with
more gender-diverse boards appear to use less levels of debt. This is consistent with the pecking order theory. The
results also show that the size of the board, the frequency of its meetings and the average age of its independent
directors positively affect the leverage ratios. They are coherent with the disciplinary role of the board stipulated by
the agency theory.