IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/rvmgts/v19y2025i10d10.1007_s11846-025-00846-5.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Sustainability practices, board’s gender diversity and quota regulations in European markets

Author

Listed:
  • Carlos Fernández-Méndez

    (University of Oviedo)

  • Rubén Arrondo-García

    (University of Oviedo)

  • Ana Rosa Fonseca-Díaz

    (University of Oviedo)

Abstract

The ubiquitous debate on sustainability practices and the development of a uniform regulation on the use of gender quotas to be implemented in all EU countries by mid-2026 puts these matters in the spotlight. We link both topics by studying the effects board gender diversity and use of gender quota regulations on the firm’s adoption of sustainability practices. Using a panel of listed firms from 22 European countries over the period 2009–2018, we find that firms with gender diverse boards present higher Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) scores while the use of quotas attenuates this positive role played by female directors. Our results are robust across econometric models that control for endogeneity. Contrarily to the notion of tokenism, we also find that that the positive effect of gender diversity is observable from the very first female board member. The positive effect of female directors on the firms’ ESG scores correspond to non-executives. Altogether, our results call for further debate on the implementation of positive gender diversity policies, specially concerning the use of quotas with sanctions for non-complaints.

Suggested Citation

  • Carlos Fernández-Méndez & Rubén Arrondo-García & Ana Rosa Fonseca-Díaz, 2025. "Sustainability practices, board’s gender diversity and quota regulations in European markets," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 19(10), pages 3177-3227, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:rvmgts:v:19:y:2025:i:10:d:10.1007_s11846-025-00846-5
    DOI: 10.1007/s11846-025-00846-5
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11846-025-00846-5
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11846-025-00846-5?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. Jason Zhang & Hong Zhu & Hung-bin Ding, 2013. "Board Composition and Corporate Social Responsibility: An Empirical Investigation in the Post Sarbanes-Oxley Era," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 114(3), pages 381-392, May.
    2. Harald Dale-Olsen & Pål Schøne & Mette Verner, 2013. "Diversity among Norwegian Boards of Directors: Does a Quota for Women Improve Firm Performance?," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(4), pages 110-135, October.
    3. Michael C. Jensen, 2010. "The Modern Industrial Revolution, Exit, and the Failure of Internal Control Systems," Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Morgan Stanley, vol. 22(1), pages 43-58, January.
    4. 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.
    5. Seierstad, Cathrine & Opsahl, Tore, 2011. "For the few not the many? The effects of affirmative action on presence, prominence, and social capital of women directors in Norway," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 27(1), pages 44-54, March.
    6. Larelle Chapple & Jacquelyn Humphrey, 2014. "Does Board Gender Diversity Have a Financial Impact? Evidence Using Stock Portfolio Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 122(4), pages 709-723, July.
    7. Nabil Ibrahim & John Angelidis & Igor Tomic, 2009. "Managers’ Attitudes Toward Codes of Ethics: Are There Gender Differences?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 90(3), pages 343-353, December.
    8. Issam Laguir & Matthijs Den Besten, 2016. "The influence of entrepreneur’s personal characteristics on MSEs growth through innovation," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(44), pages 4183-4200, September.
    9. Bonn, Ingrid, 2004. "Board Structure and Firm Performance: Evidence from Australia," Journal of Management & Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 10(1), pages 14-24, January.
    10. Muhammad Atif & Md. Samsul Alam & Mohammed Hossain, 2020. "Firm sustainable investment: Are female directors greener?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(8), pages 3449-3469, December.
    11. Jasmin Joecks & Kerstin Pull & Karin Vetter, 2013. "Gender Diversity in the Boardroom and Firm Performance: What Exactly Constitutes a “Critical Mass?”," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 118(1), pages 61-72, November.
    12. Claude Francoeur & Réal Labelle & Bernard Sinclair-Desgagné, 2008. "Gender Diversity in Corporate Governance and Top Management," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 81(1), pages 83-95, August.
    13. Nina Smith & Valdemar Smith & Mette Verner, 2006. "Do women in top management affect firm performance?A panel study of 2,500 Danish firms," International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 55(7), pages 569-593, October.
    14. Mariateresa Torchia & Andrea Calabrò & Morten Huse, 2011. "Women Directors on Corporate Boards: From Tokenism to Critical Mass," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 102(2), pages 299-317, August.
    15. 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.
    16. repec:eme:mfppss:v:40:y:2014:i:8:p:787-803 is not listed on IDEAS
    17. Amore, Mario Daniele & Pelucco, Valerio & Quarato, Fabio, 2022. "Family ownership during the Covid-19 pandemic," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    18. 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.
    19. Maretno Harjoto & Indrarini Laksmana & Robert Lee, 2015. "Board Diversity and Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 132(4), pages 641-660, December.
    20. Farrell, Kathleen A. & Hersch, Philip L., 2005. "Additions to corporate boards: the effect of gender," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 11(1-2), pages 85-106, March.
    21. Corinne Post & Noushi Rahman & Cathleen McQuillen, 2015. "From Board Composition to Corporate Environmental Performance Through Sustainability-Themed Alliances," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 130(2), pages 423-435, August.
    22. Collins Ntim & Teerooven Soobaroyen, 2013. "Black Economic Empowerment Disclosures by South African Listed Corporations: The Influence of Ownership and Board Characteristics," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 116(1), pages 121-138, August.
    23. Krishna Udayasankar, 2008. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Firm Size," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 83(2), pages 167-175, December.
    24. Mahmoud Arayssi & Mustafa Dah & Mohammad Jizi, 2016. "Women on boards, sustainability reporting and firm performance," Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 7(3), pages 376-401, September.
    25. George Kassinis & Alexia Panayiotou & Andreas Dimou & Georgia Katsifaraki, 2016. "Gender and Environmental Sustainability: A Longitudinal Analysis," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 23(6), pages 399-412, November.
    26. Alireza Vafaei & Kamran Ahmed & Paul Mather, 2015. "Board Diversity and Financial Performance in the Top 500 Australian Firms," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 25(4), pages 413-427, December.
    27. repec:dau:papers:123456789/11419 is not listed on IDEAS
    28. David Neumark & Harry Holzer, 2000. "Assessing Affirmative Action," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 38(3), pages 483-568, September.
    29. Isabelle Solal & Kaisa Snellman, 2019. "Women Don’t Mean Business? Gender Penalty in Board Composition," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 30(6), pages 1270-1288, November.
    30. Walid Ben-Amar & Millicent Chang & Philip McIlkenny, 2017. "Board Gender Diversity and Corporate Response to Sustainability Initiatives: Evidence from the Carbon Disclosure Project," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 142(2), pages 369-383, May.
    31. Laura Cabeza-García & Esther B. Brío & Carlos Rueda, 2021. "The moderating effect of innovation on the gender and performance relationship in the outset of the gender revolution," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 15(3), pages 755-778, April.
    32. Bøhren, Øyvind & Staubo, Siv, 2014. "Does mandatory gender balance work? Changing organizational form to avoid board upheaval," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 152-168.
    33. Liu, Yu & Wei, Zuobao & Xie, Feixue, 2014. "Do women directors improve firm performance in China?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 169-184.
    34. Alessandra Rigolini & Morten Huse, 2021. "Women and Multiple Board Memberships: Social Capital and Institutional Pressure," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 169(3), pages 443-459, March.
    35. Tracy Artiach & Darren Lee & David Nelson & Julie Walker, 2010. "The determinants of corporate sustainability performance," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 50(1), pages 31-51, March.
    36. Andres, Christian, 2008. "Large shareholders and firm performance--An empirical examination of founding-family ownership," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 14(4), pages 431-445, September.
    37. Tatli, Ahu & Vassilopoulou, Joana & Özbilgin, Mustafa, 2013. "An unrequited affinity between talent shortages and untapped female potential: The relevance of gender quotas for talent management in high growth potential economies of the Asia Pacific region," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 22(3), pages 539-553.
    38. Won-Yong Oh & Jongseok Cha & Young Kyun Chang, 2017. "Does Ownership Structure Matter? The Effects of Insider and Institutional Ownership on Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 146(1), pages 111-124, November.
    39. Nicole Darnall & Irene Henriques & Perry Sadorsky, 2010. "Adopting Proactive Environmental Strategy: The Influence of Stakeholders and Firm Size," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(6), pages 1072-1094, September.
    40. Steven A. Brieger & Claude Francoeur & Christian Welzel & Walid Ben-Amar, 2019. "Empowering Women: The Role of Emancipative Forces in Board Gender Diversity," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 155(2), pages 495-511, March.
    41. 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.
    42. Mahmoud Arayssi & Mustafa Dah & Mohammad Jizi, 2016. "Women on boards, sustainability reporting and firm performance," Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 7(3), pages 376-401, September.
    43. Christine A. Mallin & Giovanna Michelon, 2011. "Board reputation attributes and corporate social performance: an empirical investigation of the US Best Corporate Citizens," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(2), pages 119-144, June.
    44. Paul C. Godfrey & Craig B. Merrill & Jared M. Hansen, 2009. "The relationship between corporate social responsibility and shareholder value: an empirical test of the risk management hypothesis," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(4), pages 425-445, April.
    45. Niclas L. Erhardt & James D. Werbel & Charles B. Shrader, 2003. "Board of Director Diversity and Firm Financial Performance," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 11(2), pages 102-111, April.
    46. Ashish Arora & Michelle Gittelman & Sarah Kaplan & John Lynch & Will Mitchell & Nicolaj Siggelkow & Cristian L. Dezső & David Gaddis Ross & Jose Uribe, 2016. "Is there an implicit quota on women in top management? A large-sample statistical analysis," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(1), pages 98-115, January.
    47. Issam Laguir & Matthijs Den Besten, 2016. "The influence of entrepreneur's personal characteristics on MSEs growth through innovation," Post-Print hal-02012533, HAL.
    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. Francisco Díez-Martín & Giorgia Miotto & Cristina Del-Castillo-Feito, 2024. "The intellectual structure of gender equality research in the business economics literature," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 18(6), pages 1649-1680, June.
    2. Paul B. McGuinness & João Paulo Vieito & Mingzhu Wang, 2020. "Proactive government intervention, board gender balance, and stakeholder engagement in China and Europe," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 37(3), pages 719-762, September.
    3. 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).
    4. 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).
    5. 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.
    6. 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.
    7. Laura Cabeza-García & Esther B. Brío & Carlos Rueda, 2021. "The moderating effect of innovation on the gender and performance relationship in the outset of the gender revolution," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 15(3), pages 755-778, April.
    8. Khwaja Naveed & Cosmina L. Voinea & Zahid Ali & Fawad Rauf & Cosmin Fratostiteanu, 2021. "Board Gender Diversity and Corporate Social Performance in Different Industry Groups: Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-15, March.
    9. 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.
    10. Ayman Issa & Mohammad A. A. Zaid & Jalal Rajeh Hanaysha, 2022. "Exploring the relationship between female director's profile and sustainability performance: Evidence from the Middle East," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(6), pages 1980-2002, September.
    11. Mauro Romano & Alessandro Cirillo & Christian Favino & Antonio Netti, 2020. "ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) Performance and Board Gender Diversity: The Moderating Role of CEO Duality," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-16, November.
    12. Rakesh Pandey & Pallab Kumar Biswas & Muhammad Jahangir Ali & Mansi Mansi, 2020. "Female directors on the board and cost of debt: evidence from Australia," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 60(4), pages 4031-4060, December.
    13. 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).
    14. Bayly, Nicholas & Breunig, Robert & Wokker, Chris, 2023. "Female Board Representation and Corporate Performance: A Review and New Estimates for Australia," IZA Discussion Papers 16617, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    15. Steven A. Brieger & Claude Francoeur & Christian Welzel & Walid Ben-Amar, 2019. "Empowering Women: The Role of Emancipative Forces in Board Gender Diversity," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 155(2), pages 495-511, March.
    16. 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).
    17. Pallab Kumar Biswas & Larelle Chapple & Helen Roberts & Kevin Stainback, 2023. "Board Gender Diversity and Women in Senior Management," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 182(1), pages 177-198, January.
    18. Maria Fátima Ribeiro Borges & Graça Maria do Carmo Azevedo & Jonas Oliveira, 2025. "Literature review on gender diversity in top management teams of companies and its relationship with firm performance and audit quality," International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 22(1), pages 177-201, March.
    19. Rizwan Ali & Muhammad Safdar Sial & Talles Vianna Brugni & Jinsoo Hwang & Nguyen Vinh Khuong & Thai Hong Thuy Khanh, 2019. "Does CSR Moderate the Relationship between Corporate Governance and Chinese Firm’s Financial Performance? Evidence from the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) Firms," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-17, December.
    20. 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.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance
    • G38 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination

    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:spr:rvmgts:v:19:y:2025:i:10:d:10.1007_s11846-025-00846-5. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.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.