Board Gender Diversity and CSR Disclosure: The Case of Tunisian Listed Banks

This research examines the impact of board gender diversity on CSR disclosure for Tunisian listed banks during the period 2012–2017. Data for CSR disclosure are collected using the content analysis of the annual reports of the banks. To measure the level of CSR disclosure, we used the grid adopted by Branco and Rodrigues (Corporate Communications: An International Journal 11:232–248, 2006, Journal of Business Ethics 83:685–701, 2008). The results show that board gender diversity affects positively the level of CSR disclosure. This implies that the female representation in the board of directors promotes CSR disclosure by listed Tunisian banks. Furthermore, the level of CSR disclosure is affected positively by the bank size and negatively by the directors independence. The paper contributes to the literature on best practices in corporate governance for financial institutions in emerging markets. The results have implications for banks and policy makers in Tunisia. For banks, it shows the relevance of female representation on boards of directors to meet the CSR reporting needs of the users of annual reports. Policy makers can enforce the presence of women in top management position and more specifically on the boards of directors when drafting corporate governance regulations.