This study examined effect of female directors’ characteristics on earnings quality of listed consumer goods companies in Nigeria from 2010 to 2024. The research design adopted for this study was ex-post facto; secondary data were used, the population of the study comprised 20 listed consumer goods firms in Nigeria and the sample size of 16 was purposively selected. The technique of data analysis employed was hierarchical regression analysis, and the statistical package employed was STATA 17. The findings of the study revealed that female directors’ academic qualification (coeff. = -1.822 [0.035]) has significant but negative effect; female directors’ financial expertise (coeff. = 1.658 [0.000]) has a highly significant and positive effect; and female directors’ experience (FDEX) (coeff. = 0.018 [0.969]) has nonsignificant effect on earnings persistence of listed consumer goods firms in Nigeria. It was thus concluded that while female board participation is important, the specific attributes and competencies of female directors are critical determinants of their effectiveness in influencing earnings quality. Based on the findings and conclusion of this study, it was therefore recommended, among others, that the management of listed consumer goods firms should ensure that financially literate female directors balance rigorous oversight with long-term reporting stability and avoid excessive short-term adjustments that may distort earnings consistency.
Keywords: Academic Qualification, Earnings Quality, Female directors' characteristics, directors’ experience earnings persistence., financial expertise
