Gender Diversity Leadership and ESG Performance: The Influence of Women on Boards and in Management

IF 12.5 1区管理学 Q1 BUSINESS

Business Strategy and The Environment Pub Date : 2025-03-12 DOI:10.1002/bse.4241

Davide Sandretto, Alessandro Rizzi, Gabriella Esposito

{"title":"Gender Diversity Leadership and ESG Performance: The Influence of Women on Boards and in Management","authors":"Davide Sandretto, Alessandro Rizzi, Gabriella Esposito","doi":"10.1002/bse.4241","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"In recent years, there has been a growing interest among companies and regulatory bodies in adhering to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards, alongside an increased involvement of women in organizational decision‐making processes. In this study, we investigate the potential advantages of female representation in leadership positions on the firms' ESG performance. Using a dataset comprising 2646 public companies across Europe, America, and Asia from 2013 to 2022, we find a significant positive correlation between gender diversity and companies' sustainability performance. However, a granular analysis of the three pillars (environment, social, and governance) reveals nuanced results. Specifically, board gender diversity is only positively related to the governance score, but females in managerial positions are associated with higher social scores. These findings consistently hold after conducting a series of robustness tests to address endogeneity concerns. Our study provides practical implications for policymakers and practitioners, advocating for greater engagement of women in leadership roles.","PeriodicalId":9518,"journal":{"name":"Business Strategy and The Environment","volume":"32 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":12.5000,"publicationDate":"2025-03-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Business Strategy and The Environment","FirstCategoryId":"91","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.4241","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"BUSINESS","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

In recent years, there has been a growing interest among companies and regulatory bodies in adhering to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards, alongside an increased involvement of women in organizational decision‐making processes. In this study, we investigate the potential advantages of female representation in leadership positions on the firms' ESG performance. Using a dataset comprising 2646 public companies across Europe, America, and Asia from 2013 to 2022, we find a significant positive correlation between gender diversity and companies' sustainability performance. However, a granular analysis of the three pillars (environment, social, and governance) reveals nuanced results. Specifically, board gender diversity is only positively related to the governance score, but females in managerial positions are associated with higher social scores. These findings consistently hold after conducting a series of robustness tests to address endogeneity concerns. Our study provides practical implications for policymakers and practitioners, advocating for greater engagement of women in leadership roles.

查看原文本刊更多论文

性别多元化领导与ESG绩效：女性在董事会和管理层的影响

近年来，企业和监管机构对遵守环境、社会和治理（ESG）标准越来越感兴趣，同时女性也越来越多地参与到组织决策过程中。在本研究中，我们探讨了女性担任领导职位对公司ESG绩效的潜在优势。利用2013年至2022年欧洲、美洲和亚洲2646家上市公司的数据集，我们发现性别多样性与公司可持续发展绩效之间存在显著的正相关关系。然而，对这三个支柱（环境、社会和治理）进行细粒度分析，会发现细微的结果。具体而言，董事会性别多样性仅与治理得分呈正相关，但担任管理职位的女性与较高的社会得分相关。在进行一系列鲁棒性测试以解决内生性问题后，这些发现始终成立。我们的研究为政策制定者和实践者提供了实际意义，倡导女性更多地参与领导角色。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Business Strategy and The Environment Multiple-

CiteScore

22.50

自引率

19.40%

发文量

336

期刊介绍： Business Strategy and the Environment (BSE) is a leading academic journal focused on business strategies for improving the natural environment. It publishes peer-reviewed research on various topics such as systems and standards, environmental performance, disclosure, eco-innovation, corporate environmental management tools, organizations and management, supply chains, circular economy, governance, green finance, industry sectors, and responses to climate change and other contemporary environmental issues. The journal aims to provide original contributions that enhance the understanding of sustainability in business. Its target audience includes academics, practitioners, business managers, and consultants. However, BSE does not accept papers on corporate social responsibility (CSR), as this topic is covered by its sibling journal Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management. The journal is indexed in several databases and collections such as ABI/INFORM Collection, Agricultural & Environmental Science Database, BIOBASE, Emerald Management Reviews, GeoArchive, Environment Index, GEOBASE, INSPEC, Technology Collection, and Web of Science.