IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i10p8173-d1149468.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Impact of Women’s Empowerment on the Corporate Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Disclosure

Author

Listed:
  • Juan Dempere

    (Business Division, Higher Colleges of Technology, Ras Al Khaimah P.O. Box 4792, United Arab Emirates)

  • Shahira Abdalla

    (Business Division, Higher Colleges of Technology, Ras Al Khaimah P.O. Box 4792, United Arab Emirates)

Abstract

This research article examines the relationship between women’s empowerment and corporate ESG disclosure variables by analyzing 10,121 publicly traded companies listed worldwide with historical ESG data available in Bloomberg from 2016 to 2020. The paper seeks to answer whether corporate gender diversity directly affects companies’ ESG disclosure by using proprietary Bloomberg ESG disclosure scores and independent variables such as the female board and executive representation. Control variables, like the company’s return on equity, total debt ratio, and the natural logarithm of total assets as a proxy measurement of the firm’s size, are also included. Results provide evidence that policies that foster corporate gender diversity directly benefit from enhanced ESG-related disclosure, thus helping to trigger national dialogues about suitable corporate gender diversity strategies influencing firms’ ESG disclosure. This paper makes a unique contribution to the literature by being the first to analyze the effects of women’s empowerment on ESG disclosure using a globally representative sample. The evidence of the benefits of women’s empowerment associated with corporate ESG disclosure suggests that organizations with a more gender-diverse corporate board and executive team are more likely to have higher levels of ESG disclosure, as gender diversity increases the likelihood of organizational transparency and accountability, and can lead to improved corporate value. Governments should use this evidence to implement policies promoting women’s empowerment in the corporate world, ultimately leading to improved corporate ESG disclosure.

Suggested Citation

  • Juan Dempere & Shahira Abdalla, 2023. "The Impact of Women’s Empowerment on the Corporate Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Disclosure," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-18, May.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:10:p:8173-:d:1149468
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/10/8173/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/10/8173/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Taïeb Hafsi & Gokhan Turgut, 2013. "Boardroom Diversity and its Effect on Social Performance: Conceptualization and Empirical Evidence," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 112(3), pages 463-479, February.
    2. Ioanna Boulouta, 2013. "Hidden Connections: The Link Between Board Gender Diversity and Corporate Social Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 113(2), pages 185-197, March.
    3. Renneboog, Luc & Ter Horst, Jenke & Zhang, Chendi, 2008. "The price of ethics and stakeholder governance: The performance of socially responsible mutual funds," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 14(3), pages 302-322, June.
    4. Kuzmina, Olga & Melentyeva, Valentina, 2020. "Gender diversity in corporate boards: Evidence from quota-implied discontinuities," CEPR Discussion Papers 14942, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    5. Gul, Ferdinand A. & Srinidhi, Bin & Ng, Anthony C., 2011. "Does board gender diversity improve the informativeness of stock prices?," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(3), pages 314-338, April.
    6. Zeineb Ouni & Jamal Ben Mansour & Sana Arfaoui, 2020. "Board/Executive Gender Diversity and Firm Financial Performance in Canada: The Mediating Role of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Orientation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-17, October.
    7. Stephen Brammer & Chris Brooks & Stephen Pavelin, 2006. "Corporate Social Performance and Stock Returns: UK Evidence from Disaggregate Measures," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 35(3), pages 97-116, September.
    8. Wan Masliza Wan Mohammad & Rapiah Zaini & Aza Azlina Md Kassim, 2022. "Women on boards, firms’ competitive advantage and its effect on ESG disclosure in Malaysia," Social Responsibility Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 19(5), pages 930-948, June.
    9. Mustafa Disli & Mustafa Kemal Yilmaz & Farah Finn Mohamud Mohamed, 2022. "Board characteristics and sustainability performance: empirical evidence from emerging markets," Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 13(4), pages 929-952, January.
    10. Mustafa Disli & Mustafa Kemal Yilmaz & Farah Finn Mohamud Mohamed, 2022. "Board characteristics and sustainability performance: empirical evidence from emerging markets," Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 13(4), pages 929-952, January.
    11. Francisco Bravo & Nuria Reguera‐Alvarado, 2019. "Sustainable development disclosure: Environmental, social, and governance reporting and gender diversity in the audit committee," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(2), pages 418-429, February.
    12. Chen, Yi-Chun & Hung, Mingyi & Wang, Yongxiang, 2018. "The effect of mandatory CSR disclosure on firm profitability and social externalities: Evidence from China," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(1), pages 169-190.
    13. Wan Adibah Wan Ismail & Khairul Anuar Kamarudin & Namrata Gupta & Iman Harymawan, 2022. "Gender Diversity in the Boardroom and Corporate Cash Holdings: The Moderating Effect of Investor Protection," Risks, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-18, March.
    14. Levi, Maurice & Li, Kai & Zhang, Feng, 2014. "Director gender and mergers and acquisitions," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 185-200.
    15. Li Cai & Chaohua He, 2014. "Corporate Environmental Responsibility and Equity Prices," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 125(4), pages 617-635, December.
    16. Halit Gonenc & Antonina V. Krasnikova, 2022. "Board Gender Diversity and Voluntary Carbon Emission Disclosure," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-18, November.
    17. Abagail McWilliams & Donald Siegel, 2000. "Corporate social responsibility and financial performance: correlation or misspecification?," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(5), pages 603-609, May.
    18. Victoria Bogdan & Dorina-Nicoleta Popa & Mărioara Beleneşi & Luminița Rus & Carmen-Mihaela Scorțe, 2023. "Gender Diversity and Business Performance Nexus: A Synoptic Panorama Based on Bibliometric Network Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-26, January.
    19. Muhammad Azeem Qureshi & Sina Kirkerud & Kim Theresa & Tanveer Ahsan, 2020. "The impact of sustainability (environmental, social, and governance) disclosure and board diversity on firm value: The moderating role of industry sensitivity," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(3), pages 1199-1214, March.
    20. Shakil, Mohammad Hassan, 2021. "Environmental, social and governance performance and financial risk: Moderating role of ESG controversies and board gender diversity," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    21. Indah Fajarini Sri Wahyuningrum & Shanty Oktavilia & Sri Utami, 2022. "The Effect of Company Characteristics and Gender Diversity on Disclosures Related to Sustainable Development Goals," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-13, October.
    22. Giuliana Birindelli & Stefano Dell’Atti & Antonia Patrizia Iannuzzi & Marco Savioli, 2018. "Composition and Activity of the Board of Directors: Impact on ESG Performance in the Banking System," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-20, December.
    23. Stephen Bear & Noushi Rahman & Corinne Post, 2010. "The Impact of Board Diversity and Gender Composition on Corporate Social Responsibility and Firm Reputation," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 97(2), pages 207-221, December.
    24. Clara Gallego-Sosa & Yakira Fernández-Torres & Milagros Gutiérrez-Fernández, 2020. "Does Gender Diversity Affect the Environmental Performance of Banks?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-15, December.
    25. Liao, Lin & Luo, Le & Tang, Qingliang, 2015. "Gender diversity, board independence, environmental committee and greenhouse gas disclosure," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 47(4), pages 409-424.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Kara, Alper & Nanteza, Aziidah & Ozkan, Aydin & Yildiz, Yilmaz, 2022. "Board gender diversity and responsible banking during the COVID-19 pandemic," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    2. Jing Lu & Irene M. Herremans, 2019. "Board gender diversity and environmental performance: An industries perspective," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(7), pages 1449-1464, November.
    3. Yunyi Li & Charl de Villiers & Lina Zixuan Li & Leye Li, 2022. "The moderating effect of board gender diversity on the relation between corporate social responsibility and firm value," Journal of Management Control: Zeitschrift für Planung und Unternehmenssteuerung, Springer, vol. 33(1), pages 109-143, March.
    4. Atif, Muhammad & Hossain, Mohammed & Alam, Md Samsul & Goergen, Marc, 2021. "Does board gender diversity affect renewable energy consumption?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    5. Nguyen, Thi Hong Hanh & Ntim, Collins G. & Malagila, John K., 2020. "Women on corporate boards and corporate financial and non-financial performance: A systematic literature review and future research agenda," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    6. Saeed, Abubakr & Riaz, Hammad & Liedong, Tahiru Azaaviele & Rajwani, Tazeeb, 2022. "The impact of TMT gender diversity on corporate environmental strategy in emerging economies," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 536-551.
    7. Anrafel Souza Barbosa & Maria Cristina Basilio Crispim Silva & Luiz Bueno Silva & Sandra Naomi Morioka & Vinícius Fernandes Souza, 2023. "Integration of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria: their impacts on corporate sustainability performance," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-18, December.
    8. María‐Florencia Amorelli & Isabel‐María García‐Sánchez, 2021. "Trends in the dynamic evolution of board gender diversity and corporate social responsibility," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(2), pages 537-554, March.
    9. Shubham Singhania & Jagvinder Singh & Deepti Aggrawal, 2023. "Gender diversity on board and corporate sustainability: a quantitative review based on bibliometric mapping," International Journal of System Assurance Engineering and Management, Springer;The Society for Reliability, Engineering Quality and Operations Management (SREQOM),India, and Division of Operation and Maintenance, Lulea University of Technology, Sweden, vol. 14(1), pages 267-286, February.
    10. Nooraisah Katmon & Zam Zuriyati Mohamad & Norlia Mat Norwani & Omar Al Farooque, 2019. "Comprehensive Board Diversity and Quality of Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure: Evidence from an Emerging Market," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 157(2), pages 447-481, June.
    11. Isabel‐María García‐Sánchez & Valentina Minutiello & Patrizia Tettamanzi, 2022. "Gender disclosure: The impact of peer behaviour and the firm's equality policies," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(2), pages 385-405, March.
    12. Mohamed H. Elmagrhi & Collins G. Ntim & Ahmed A. Elamer & Qingjing Zhang, 2019. "A study of environmental policies and regulations, governance structures, and environmental performance: The role of female directors," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(1), pages 206-220, January.
    13. Gull, Ammar Ali & Atif, Muhammad & Hussain, Nazim, 2023. "Board gender composition and waste management: Cross-country evidence," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 55(1).
    14. Lu, Yun & Ntim, Collins G. & Zhang, Qingjing & Li, Pingli, 2022. "Board of directors’ attributes and corporate outcomes: A systematic literature review and future research agenda," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    15. James J. Cordeiro & Giorgia Profumo & Ilaria Tutore, 2020. "Board gender diversity and corporate environmental performance: The moderating role of family and dual‐class majority ownership structures," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(3), pages 1127-1144, March.
    16. Camélia Radu & Nadia Smaili, 2022. "Board Gender Diversity and Corporate Response to Cyber Risk: Evidence from Cybersecurity Related Disclosure," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 177(2), pages 351-374, May.
    17. Nurshahirah Abd Majid & Amar Hisham Jaaffar, 2023. "The Effect of Women’s Leadership on Carbon Disclosure by the Top 100 Global Energy Leaders," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-26, May.
    18. Nekhili, Mehdi & Nagati, Haithem & Chtioui, Tawhid & Nekhili, Ali, 2017. "Gender-diverse board and the relevance of voluntary CSR reporting," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 81-100.
    19. Kiefner, Valentin & Mohr, Alexander & Schumacher, Christian, 2022. "Female executives and multinationals’ support of the UN's sustainable development goals," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 57(3).
    20. McGuinness, Paul B. & Vieito, João Paulo & Wang, Mingzhu, 2017. "The role of board gender and foreign ownership in the CSR performance of Chinese listed firms," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 75-99.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:10:p:8173-:d:1149468. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.