On June 4, 2025, at 14:30 pm, the 43rd Forum on Digital Technology and Economic Finance Frontiers was successfully held. The theme of the lecture was "Female Leadership, Attractiveness, and Corporate Philanthropy", and the guest speaker was Professor Leng Ling from Georgia College & State University. The lecture was chaired by Gecheng Yuan, Associate Professor of the Finance School and the Innovation and Talent Base for Digital Technology and Finance. More than 30 teachers and students from the School of Finance participated in this lecture.

At the beginning of the lecture, Associate Professor Gecheng Yuan briefly introduced relevant information of Professor Leng Ling to the participants and expressed his sincere gratitude for his availability to give a lecture at our college despite his busy schedule.

During the lecture, Professor Ling Ling discussed how the attractiveness of female CEOs affects corporate philanthropic behavior. The research found that attractive female CEOs are concerned that their attractiveness may undermine perceptions of their competence, so they engage in philanthropic activities to demonstrate compassion and care, offsetting biases and meeting leadership expectations. They are more active in philanthropy and make larger donations than their less attractive peers, which is particularly pronounced in regions with strong gender stereotypes and low marketization.

Finally, the participants engaged in active academic exchanges with Professor Leng Ling, discussing the lecture topic together. Professor Ling provided detailed answers to the questions and concerns raised by the teachers and students. Associate Professor Gecheng Yuan expressed gratitude for Professor Leng Ling's presentation. With this, the current session of the forum came to a successful conclusion.

Speaker Introduction

Leng Ling, Ph.D., Professor of Finance at Georgia College and State University in the United States. Research areas include corporate finance, mutual funds, behavioral economics and finance, etc. His papers have been published in multiple foreign academic journals such as The Review of Financial Studies, China Economic Review, Accounting and Finance, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organizations, The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Journal of Financial Markets, Research in International Business and Finance.

Frontier Forum for Digital Technology and Finance introduction

Recent years have witnessed a dramatic acceleration in a digital revolution in economic sectors and a rapid adoption of the new generation of information technologies, such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, cloud computing, big data, etc. These technologies effectively set off the digital economy. It has become a key driving force in creating global economic growth, improving the modernization level of governance capabilities, and promoting high-quality economic development in China. In particular, digital finance is the most important part of the digital economy. To explore the development direction of the cross-integration of digital technology and finance, the Innovation and Talent Base for Digital Technology and Finance is hosting the “Frontier Forum for Digital Technology and Finance”, in collaboration with the School of Finance, Wenlan School of Business, Economics School, School of Information and Safety Engineering, School of Statistics and Mathematics, School of Public Finance and Taxation of Zhongnan University of Economics and Law (ZUEL). This lecture series will invite the well-known scholars at home and abroad in digital technology, digital economy, digital finance, and other related fields as guest speakers, providing an open and cutting-edge academic exchange platform for interdisciplinary research on digital technology and finance.