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Companies are more likely to succeed if they have a relatively small board, a higher proportion of women directors, and a healthy number of non-executives, according to a study from law firm Eversheds.

The firm analyzed the performance of nearly 250 of the top companies in Europe, the United States, and Asia Pacific between October 2007 and December 2009 to discover whether board composition had any direct relationship to a company's ability to weather the financial crisis.

It found that companies performed better when they had fewer directors on their boards: the optimum number being 11. Those with more female directors also did better, particularly in the United Kingdom and in the banking sector. And there was a strong correlation between share price performance and the number of independent directors on company boards.

“Lessons should be learned from the factors that contributed to company performance, and it is clear that—where appropriate—more streamlined, independent boards with a higher ratio of female directors could be keys to future success,” said Mark Spinner, corporate partner at Eversheds.

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