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This paper explores the effects of Matriarchal leadership styles on the performance and success of female-led businesses in South Africa, intending to generate insights that support women entrepreneurs in achieving their objectives within a competitive market.  Using a Systematic Literature Review, this paper analysed current scholarly articles, reports and studies that examine the relationship between matriarchal leadership and entrepreneurial success. The review process involved source identification, data extraction, critical analysis, and synthesis to develop a comprehensive understanding of the topic. The findings revealed that matriarchal leadership styles significantly enhance business performance by fostering empathy, collaboration and inclusivity, which contribute to supportive work environments, increased productivity and innovation. This paper highlights important managerial and policy implications, recommending that inclusive leadership strengthens team cohesion and organisational effectiveness. The paper is original in addressing the limited adoption of matriarchal leadership due to patriarchal norms, misconceptions, limited research, and organisational resistance to change. 

This study investigates the influence of board gender diversity on the shareholder value of South African-listed non-financial companies on the JSE from 2013 to 2022. The study used a quantitative quasi-experimental method to examine the influence of board gender diversity on shareholder value creation measures from a multi-theoretical perspective. The board gender diversity measures include the proportion of women directors on the board, the Blau index for board gender diversity, and dummy variables indicating the presence of one, two, three, or more women directors on the board, as well as skewed board, tilted board, and balanced board. Shareholder value creation is proxied using standardised market value added, market-to-book ratio, and Tobin’s Q. The study utilises fixed effects models based on linear and curvilinear models to test the hypotheses. According to linear models, all board gender diversity measures demonstrate a significant positive, negative, or no effect on shareholder value creation measures, aligning with the multi-theoretical perspective of corporate governance research. However, curvilinear quadratic models suggest that the Blau index for board gender diversity and the proportion of women directors on board positively and negatively affect shareholder value creation, highlighting an inverted U-shaped effect. The results recognise the "too much- of- a -good- thing” effect and a possible optimal(or worse) level of board gender diversity as crucial. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that the claim of the ‘‘one size fits all’’ board gender diversity mechanism in creating and maximising shareholder value, often implicitly stated by regulators and advisors, may be misleading.