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Do Female Directors Raise ESG Ratings? A Meta-Analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Karolina Hozova

    (Institute of Economic Studies, Charles University, Prague)

  • Tomas Havranek

    (Institute of Economic Studies, Charles University, Prague & Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR), London & Meta-Research Innovation Center at Stanford (METRICS))

  • Zuzana Irsova

    (Institute of Economic Studies, Charles University, Prague & Meta-Research Innovation Center at Stanford (METRICS))

Abstract

Appointing more women to corporate boards is widely expected to also raise firms´ environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance. We provide the first meta-analysis of this relationship, drawing on 533 estimates from 106 studies that measure ESG performance with Bloomberg or LSEG ratings. The average reported effect of a one-percentage-point increase in board gender diversity is about 0.28 ESG points, but much of it does not survive scrutiny. Correcting for publication bias with a battery of linear and non-linear methods lowers the effect to between roughly 0.08 and 0.17 points. A best-practice estimate that also imposes sound study design puts it near 0.12 for most of the world, markedly higher for the Middle East, and near −0.11 for the Southeast Asian markets that dominate the Asian evidence. The differences that remain across studies are systematic, driven mainly by geography and by the choice of estimation method rather than by the ESG-rating provider or the controls a study includes. Board gender diversity may be well worth pursuing on its own merits, but the evidence that it reliably raises ESG scores is weaker than the published record suggests.

Suggested Citation

  • Karolina Hozova & Tomas Havranek & Zuzana Irsova, 2026. "Do Female Directors Raise ESG Ratings? A Meta-Analysis," Working Papers IES 2026/25, Charles University Prague, Faculty of Social Sciences, Institute of Economic Studies, revised Sep 2026.
    • Handle: RePEc:fau:wpaper:wp2026_25
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    JEL classification:

    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance
    • M14 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Corporate Culture; Diversity; Social Responsibility
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • C83 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Data Collection and Data Estimation Methodology; Computer Programs - - - Survey Methods; Sampling Methods

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