This study investigates the gendered nature of internationalization processes by recognizing the role of gender-discriminating institutions. Based on an integrated theoretical framework combining Resource Dependence Theory with Institutional Theory, we theorize that gender-discriminating institutions create gender-specific trade barriers restricting the ability of female directors to provide resources in the form of information, contacts, and legitimacy. We show empirically that firm internationalization, in the form of foreign sales, is affected by the interaction between the board of directors’ female share and gender-discriminating institutions in foreign countries, as firms with a high share of female directors sell relatively less to discriminatory destination countries. This firm-level relationship transfers to country-level trade flows when using countries’ aggregate share of female directors and bilateral exports in a structural gravity framework. Our findings suggest that institutionalized discrimination against women is a barrier to firm internationalization, which serves as the foundation for similar macroeconomically significant effects on international trade. This might give rise to disadvantages for female directors even from non-discriminatory home countries.
