Gender policies on board of directors and sustainable development

Abstract

Gender policies concerning the composition of board of directors are included in the legislation of many countries, especially promoted by the European Commission to reach gender equality in the processes of decision making. On the other hand, in the last decades, sustainable development problems caused by economic progress have enhanced the interest in environmental policies. Using the data from top Spanish listed companies, from 2003 to 2017, we test if the higher number of women on their board influences corporate social responsibility (CSR), through the disclosure of reports following the Global Reporting Initiative guidelines and the inclusion in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. By using probit models and instrumental variable estimation to address endogeneity and reverse causality problems, we find that the female presence in management positions is positively linked to a voluntary disclosure of CSR reports and the inclusion in a sustainability index, which supports gender legislation.

The role of women on boards in corporate environmental strategy and financial performance: A global outlook

“…The spread of national public policies to increase the percentage of women on boards (WoB) has been going on for over 10 years. Norway first introduced a gender-balance law with quota regulations for corporate boards in 2003, and afterward, countries in the European Union, such as Sweden, Germany, Italy, France, and Spain, followed this initiative to increase the representation of WoB (Adams, 2016;Seierstad, Warner-Søderholm, Torchia, & Huse, 2017;Valls Martínez, Cruz Rambaud, & Parra Oller, 2019). In addition, developing countries, such as China (Yu Liu, Wei, & Xie, 2014), India, and Middle Eastern countries (Rao & Tilt, 2016), have also made efforts to increase the number of WoB.…”

Women on corporate boards and sustainable development in the American and European markets: Is there a limit to gender policies?

“…It is a standardized measure and has an easy interpretation: if the ratio is greater than one, then investors consider that the company deploys its material and intellectual resources efficiently, and vice versa (Valls Martínez & Cruz Rambaud, 2019). Previous studies show a significant relationship between Tobin's Q and CSR (Ben‐Amar et al, 2017; Valls Martínez et al, 2019), but others find that this relationship is insignificant (Francoeur et al, 2019).…”

“…In addition, some empirical studies find no relationship (Glass, Cook, & Ingersoll, 2016; Post, Rahman, & Rubow, 2011; Walls, Berrone, & Phan, 2012). However, most studies demonstrate the positive influence of women on CSR performance (Xie, Nozawa, & Managi, 2020; Aslam, Abdul, Makki, Mahmood, & Amin, 2018; Charumathi & Rahman, 2019; Isidro & Sobral, 2015; Liao, Zhang, & Wang, 2019; Manita, Bruna, Dang, & Houanti, 2018; Setó‐Pamies, 2015; Valls Martínez et al, 2019; Zhang, Zhu, & Ding, 2013).…”

“…Thus, its composition is a key consideration in the level of CSP and is the current topic of research. In this sense, gender diversity is an interesting issue in politics and an interesting stream of research because the percentage of women on boards is crucial to its effectiveness and to increase firms' sustainable strategies (Dawar & Singh, 2016; Valls Martínez, Cruz Rambaud, & Parra Oller, 2019; Velte, 2017a).…”

“…Several important studies find that the increasing proportion of women on boards of directors positively influences corporate financial performance (Post & Byron, 2015; Valls Martínez & Cruz Rambaud, 2019). Although several studies also show a positive influence on CSP (Ben‐Amar, Chang, & McIlkenny, 2017; Dienes & Velte, 2016; Francoeur, Labelle, Balti, & El Bouzaidi, 2019; Kyaw, Olugbode, & Petracci, 2017; Valls Martínez et al, 2019; Velte, 2017b), other studies find no relationship (Fauzi & Locke, 2012; Jhunjhunwala & Mishra, 2012; Stanwick & Stanwick, 1998). In this sense, it is important to note that some empirical analysis argues for the existence of a critical mass of women on boards to influence corporate performance and determines that at least three women are necessary to improve company performance (Bernardi & Threadgill, 2010; Fernandez‐Feijoo, Romera, & Ruiz, 2012; Liao, Lin, & Zhang, 2018).…”