IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/finlet/v81y2025ics1544612325007809.html

Does fostering inclusion in the workplace enhance corporate financial performance?

Author

Listed:
  • Ullah, Muhammad
  • Qureshi, Qazi Ghulam Mustafa
  • Ullah, Hameed

Abstract

This paper investigates the impact of workplace inclusion—defined as the procedures organizations implement to integrate everyone in the workplace—on corporate financial performance, examining for the first time its effect on market valuation alongside profitability. We construct a composite, policy-based inclusion measure based on five observable components: flexible working hours, daycare services, disability inclusion, corporate equality index, and HIV/AIDS programs. Using a cross-country panel of 14,387 firm-year observations from 2011 to 2022 and estimating high-dimensional fixed effects regression models, we find that inclusion is positively associated with both firm profitability and market valuation, suggesting that inclusive workplace policies enhance financial performance. However, this relationship varies across national contexts. These findings underscore the strategic value of inclusion, offering practical insights for various stakeholders.

Suggested Citation

  • Ullah, Muhammad & Qureshi, Qazi Ghulam Mustafa & Ullah, Hameed, 2025. "Does fostering inclusion in the workplace enhance corporate financial performance?," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:finlet:v:81:y:2025:i:c:s1544612325007809
    DOI: 10.1016/j.frl.2025.107521
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1544612325007809
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.frl.2025.107521?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Paulo Guimarães & Pedro Portugal, 2010. "A simple feasible procedure to fit models with high-dimensional fixed effects," Stata Journal, StataCorp LLC, vol. 10(4), pages 628-649, December.
    2. Jessica M. Rixom & Mark Jackson & Brett A. Rixom, 2023. "Mandating Diversity on the Board of Directors: Do Investors Feel That Gender Quotas Result in Tokenism or Added Value for Firms?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 182(3), pages 679-697, January.
    3. Simoens, Mathieu & Vennet, Rudi Vander, 2021. "Bank performance in Europe and the US: A divergence in market-to-book ratios," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 40(C).
    4. Florian Habermann & Felix Bernhard Fischer, 2023. "Corporate Social Performance and the Likelihood of Bankruptcy: Evidence from a Period of Economic Upswing," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 182(1), pages 243-259, January.
    5. Kleibergen, Frank & Paap, Richard, 2006. "Generalized reduced rank tests using the singular value decomposition," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 133(1), pages 97-126, July.
    6. 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.
    7. Iftekhar Hasan & Nada Kobeissi & Liuling Liu & Haizhi Wang, 2018. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Firm Financial Performance: The Mediating Role of Productivity," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 149(3), pages 671-688, May.
    8. Adams, Renée B. & Ferreira, Daniel, 2009. "Women in the boardroom and their impact on governance and performance," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(2), pages 291-309, November.
    9. Florian Berg & Julian F Kölbel & Roberto Rigobon, 2022. "Aggregate Confusion: The Divergence of ESG Ratings [Corporate social responsibility and firm risk: theory and empirical evidence]," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 26(6), pages 1315-1344.
    10. Taylor, Daniel, 2022. "Did diversified and less risky banks perform better amid the pandemic?," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 211(C).
    11. Azeem, Naveed & Ullah, Muhammad & Ullah, Farid, 2023. "Board gender diversity and firms' financial resilience during the Covid-19 pandemic," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 58(PA).
    12. 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.
    13. Covington, Thomas & Le, Thanh Dat & Ngo, Julie, 2025. "Diversity and inclusion in the workplace and corporate innovation," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    14. Bax, Karoline, 2023. "Do diverse and inclusive workplaces benefit investors? An Empirical Analysis on Europe and the United States," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    15. Marta-Christina Suciu & Gratiela Georgiana Noja & Mirela Cristea, 2020. "Diversity, Social Inclusion and Human Capital Development as Fundamentals of Financial Performance and Risk Mitigation," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 22(55), pages 742-742, August.
    16. Jing Lu & Kathleen Rodenburg & Lianne Foti & Ann Pegoraro, 2022. "Are firms with better sustainability performance more resilient during crises?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(7), pages 3354-3370, November.
    17. Li, Xingjian & Feng, Hongrui & Zhao, Sebastian & Carter, David A., 2021. "The effect of revenue diversification on bank profitability and risk during the COVID-19 pandemic," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 43(C).
    18. Aaron K. Chatterji & Rodolphe Durand & David I. Levine & Samuel Touboul, 2016. "Do ratings of firms converge? Implications for managers, investors and strategy researchers," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(8), pages 1597-1614, August.
    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. Sun, Chenwei & Jin, Justin & Nainar, Khalid & Lobo, Gerald, 2024. "Does firms’ corporate social responsibility reduce crime?," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 96(PC).
    2. Xiang Luo & Jianan Zhou, 2025. "Unveiling Her Efforts: Gender Diversity’s Impact on Performance Commitments in M&As," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 200(1), pages 55-90, August.
    3. Azeem, Naveed & Ullah, Muhammad & Ullah, Farid, 2023. "Board gender diversity and firms' financial resilience during the Covid-19 pandemic," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 58(PA).
    4. Schoonjans, Eline, 2024. "From diversity to sustainability: Environmental and social spillover effects of board gender quotas," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 222(C), pages 314-331.
    5. Nurlan Orazalin & Mady Baydauletov, 2020. "Corporate social responsibility strategy and corporate environmental and social performance: The moderating role of board gender diversity," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(4), pages 1664-1676, July.
    6. Owen, Ann L. & Temesvary, Judit, 2018. "The performance effects of gender diversity on bank boards," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 50-63.
    7. Jamaani, Fouad, 2025. "Can female directors affect IPO withdrawal risk?," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 68(3), pages 361-383.
    8. Daniel Ofori-Sasu & Maame Ofewah Sarpong & Vivian Tetteh & Baah Aye Kusi, 2022. "Banking disclosure and banking crises in Africa: does board gender diversity play a role?," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(1), pages 1-10, December.
    9. Ishmael Tingbani & Lyton Chithambo & Venancio Tauringana & Nikolaos Papanikolaou, 2020. "Board gender diversity, environmental committee and greenhouse gas voluntary disclosures," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(6), pages 2194-2210, September.
    10. Ruijie Jin & Xu Jiang & Helen Wei Hu, 2023. "Internal and external CSR in China: How do women independent directors matter?," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 40(1), pages 169-204, March.
    11. Gull, Ammar Ali & Ahsan, Tanveer & Qureshi, Muhammad Azeem & Mushtaq, Rizwan, 2023. "Striving to safeguard shareholders or maintain sustainability in periods of high uncertainty: A multi-country evidence," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    12. Luong, Hoa & Khedmati, Mehdi & Nguyen, Lan Anh & Nigmonov, Asror & Ovi, Nafisa Zabeen & Shams, Syed, 2023. "CEO-director ties and board gender diversity: US evidence," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 40(C).
    13. Truc (Peter) Do & Kathleen Herbohn, 2024. "The impact of board ethnic diversity and Chief Executive Officer role on corporate social responsibility," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 64(1), pages 575-605, March.
    14. Emmanuel Mensah & Christopher Boachie, 2023. "Corporate governance mechanisms and earnings management: The moderating role of female directors," Cogent Business & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(1), pages 2167290-216, December.
    15. 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).
    16. Mehdi Nekhili & Hayette Gatfaoui, 2013. "Are Demographic Attributes and Firm Characteristics Drivers of Gender Diversity? Investigating Women’s Positions on French Boards of Directors," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 118(2), pages 227-249, December.
    17. Hernández-Atienza, Fernando & Rodríguez-Sanz, Juan Antonio & Tejerina-Gaite, Fernando, 2024. "The pathways of board diversity in European contexts: Exploring the influence of director types on firm performance," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 72(PA).
    18. Helena Isidro & Márcia Sobral, 2015. "The Effects of Women on Corporate Boards on Firm Value, Financial Performance, and Ethical and Social Compliance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 132(1), pages 1-19, November.
    19. Chen, Robin & Li, Shenru & Truong, Quang Thai & Chan, Chia-Ying, 2025. "Gender diversity in the boardroom: The role of female directors in mitigating stock price crash risk," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    20. 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.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • G3 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance
    • I3 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty
    • J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics
    • M5 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Personnel Economics
    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:eee:finlet:v:81:y:2025:i:c:s1544612325007809. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/frl .

    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.