Women Director Networks and Corporate Social Responsibility of Indian firms

This study examines the relationship between network centrality of women directors in Indian boards on their corporate social responsibility (CSR). While existing research primarily focuses on board gender diversity, we argue that the ability of women directors to affect firm decisions also depends on how well connected these directors are. Using the enforcement of mandatory CSR as a natural experiment on a sample of non-financial firms listed on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in India during 2016-2023 we find that firms with higher women directors centrality exhibit higher CSR spending, stronger compliance with the CSR mandate and a greater likelihood of spending above their industry peers. The effects were stronger among firms that engage in CSR consistently and was also robust across alternative measures of network centrality and alternative specifications to address the endogeneity. Our findings contributed to the literature on gender diversity and CSR, by indicating that the network centrality constitute an important mechanism through which women directors influence CSR outcomes.