Board Gender Diversity and CSR in an Emerging Market: Do Ownership Structure and Female Directors’ Attributes Matter?

This research examines the impact of board gender diversity (BGD) on corporate social responsibility (CSR) in large, listed Vietnamese companies from 2014 to 2020. We discover that BGD positively influences CSR performance in both social and environmental aspects, evaluated through content analysis aligned with Global Reporting Initiative requirements. Furthermore, the ownership structure moderates the impact of female directors, with state ownership amplifying their influence across both CSR aspects, whereas foreign ownership enhances their effect solely in relation to social CSR. Further analysis reveals that female directors contribute to CSR mostly through executive roles rather than independent ones. Older female directors mostly enhance social CSR, while highly educated female directors contribute to both social and environmental CSR, but with a lagged effect. These findings provide a deeper understanding of how ownership structure and the female director qualities influence CSR dimensions, with important implications for policymakers and stakeholders in emerging economies.