The effect of women on boards and directors on business Sustainability

Keywords: Women in senior management; Corporate sustainability; Corporate governance.

Abstract

Objective: this research aimed to analyze the effect of women on boards and directors on the corporate sustainability of companies with and without mandatory regulation of women in such positions.

Method: descriptive, documentary and quantitative research was carried out using the regression technique using the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) model with robust standard errors.

Originality/Relevance: the proposed analysis is considered incipient in the national context and provides an explanation for the conflicting results found in the literature, denoting which aspects of business sustainability are impacted by the presence of women in senior management.

Results: the results showed a positive relationship between women on the Board of Directors and Executive Board in financial and market performance in companies with some type of regulation on the presence of women in senior management and in companies in countries without this type of regulation. Furthermore, the positive impact of women on the environmental and social disclosure of the companies analyzed was noted. Such evidence contributes to the literature related to women in senior management and corporate sustainability by reaffirming previous findings. The results found reinforce the argument that women play an important role in the corporate governance of companies and contribute to increasing corporate sustainability.

Contributions: for the corporate environment, the results highlight the feminine characteristics that tend to boost companies' results when in a leadership position. The main practical implication for companies seeking to develop sustainability is that based on the sample analyzed and under these conditions, the increase in women on boards and directors can influence the achievement of better financial and market results and greater environmental and social disclosures. . The findings of this research can help public policymakers to develop policies aimed at appointing women in senior management, given the benefits for business sustainability.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Larissa Degenhart, Fundacao Universidade Regional de Blumenau – FURB

Doutora em Ciências Contábeis e Administração pela Universidade Regional de Blumenau (FURB)

Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM)

Professora do Programa de Pós-Graduação em Administração e Ciências Contábeis na Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (PPGACC/UFSM)

Letícia Rigon, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM)

Mestre em Ciências Contábeis pela Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM)

Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM)

Igor Bernardi Sonza, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM)

Doutor em Administração pela Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM)

Professor do Programa de Pós-Graduação em Administração e Ciências Contábeis na Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (PPGACC/UFSM).

Antonio Zanin, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul (UFMS)

Doutor em Engenharia de Produção pela Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul (UFMS)

Professor do Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Contábeis na Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul (UFMS).

References

Ahmad, N. B. J., Rashid, A., & Gow, J. (2018). Corporate board gender diversity and corporate social responsibility reporting in Malaysia. Gender, Technology and Development, 22(2), 87-108. https://doi.org/10.1080/09718524.2018.1496671

Ashrafi, M., Adams, M., Walker, T. R., & Magnan, G. (2018). How corporate social responsibility can be integrated into corporate sustainability: a theoretical review of their relationships. Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology, 25(8), 672-682. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504509.2018.1471628

Ben-Amar, W., Chang, M., & Mcilkenny, P. (2017). Board gender diversity and corporate response to sustainability initiatives: Evidence from the carbon disclosure project. Journal of Business Ethics, 142(2), 369-383. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-015-2759-1

Cicchiello, A. F., Fellegara, A. M., Kazemikhasragh, A., & Monferrà, S. (2021). Gender diversity on corporate boards: How Asian and African women contribute on sustainability reporting activity. Gender in Management, 36(7), 801-820. https://doi.org/10.1108/GM-05-2020-0147

Cordeiro, J. J., Profumo, G., & Tutore, I. (2020). Board gender diversity and corporate environmental performance: The moderating role of family and dual-class majority ownership structures. Business Strategy and the Environment, 29(3), 1127-1144. https://doi.org/10.1108/GM-05-2020-0147

Cosma, S., Leopizzi, R., Pizzi, S., & Turco, M. (2021). The stakeholder engagement in the European banks: Regulation versus governance. What changes after the NF directive? Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 28(3), 1091-1103. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.2108

Costa, L., Sampaio, J. O., & Flores, E. S. (2019). Diversidade de gênero nos conselhos administrativos e sua relação com desempenho e risco financeiro nas empresas familiares. Revista de Administração Contemporânea, 23, 721-738. https://doi.org/10.1590/1982-7849rac2019180327

Dankwano, R. N., & Hassan, Z. (2018). Impact of gender diversity on Indian firm's financial performance. Journal of Management, Accounting and Economics, 5(5), 319-34.

Darko, J., Aribi, Z. A., & Uzonwanne, G. C. (2016). Corporate governance: The impact of director and board structure, ownership structure and corporate control on the performance of listed companies on the Ghana stock exchange. Corporate Governance, 16(2), 259-277. https://doi.org/10.1108/CG-11-2014-0133

Elmagrhi, M. H., Ntim, C. G., Elamer, A. A., & Zhang, Q. (2018). A study of environmental policies and regulations, governance structures, and environmental performance: The role of female directors. Business Strategy and the Environment, 28(1), 206-220. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.2250

Fakir, A., & Jusoh, R. (2020). Board gender diversity and corporate sustainability performance: Mediating role of enterprise risk management. The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business, 7(6), 351-363. https://doi.org/10.13106/jafeb.2020.vol7.no6.351

Forte, H. C., Silva, L. K. S., & Abreu, M. C. S. de. (2020). Efeito da estrutura do conselho de administração na evidenciação de práticas ambientais e sociais em empresas brasileiras. Revista Universo Contábil, 16(1), 119-135. http://dx.doi.org/10.4270/ruc.2020106

Galletta, S., Mazzù, S., Naciti, V., & Vermiglio, C. (2022). Gender diversity and sustainability performance in the banking industry. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 29(1), 161-174. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.2191

Hassan, L. S., Saleh, N. M., & Ibrahim, I. (2020). Board diversity, company's financial performance and corporate social responsibility information disclosure in Malaysia. International Business Education Journal, 13(1), 23-49. https://doi.org/10.37134/ibej.vol13.1.3.2020

Husted, B. W., & Sousa-Filho, J. M. de. (2019). Board structure and environmental, social, and governance disclosure in Latin America. Journal of Business Research, 102, 220-227. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.01.017

Kamarudin, K. A., Ariff, A. M., & Ismail, W. A. W. (2021). Product market competition, board gender diversity and corporate sustainability performance: international evidence. Journal of Financial Reporting and Accounting, 20(2), 233-260. https://doi.org/10.1108/JFRA-01-2021-0020

Lee, J. H., Byun, H. S., & Park, K. S. (2018). Product market competition and corporate social responsibility activities: Perspectives from an emerging economy. Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, 49, 60-80. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pacfin.2018.04.001

Li, T. T., Wang, K., Sueyoshi, T., & Wang, D. D. (2021). ESG: Research progress and future prospects. Sustainability, 13(21), 11663. https://doi.org/10.3390/su132111663

Licandro, O. D., & Correa, P. (2022). Relación entre el género del director ejecutivo y la aplicación de la responsabilidad social empresarial. Estudios Gerenciales, 38(164), 264-278. https://doi.org/10.18046/j.estger.2022.164.4996

Mahmood, M., & Orazalin, N. (2017). Green governance and sustainability reporting in Kazakhstan's oil, gas, and mining sector: Evidence from a former USSR emerging economy. Journal of Cleaner Production, 164, 389-397. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.06.203

Martinez-Jimenez, R., Hernández-Ortiz, M. J., & Fernández, A. I. C. (2020). Gender diversity influence on board effectiveness and business performance. Corporate Governance, 20(2), 307-323. https://doi.org/10.1108/CG-07-2019-0206


Mastella, M., Vancin, D., Perlin, M., & Kirch, G. (2021). Board gender diversity: performance and risk of Brazilian firms. Gender in Management, 36(4), 498-518. https://doi.org/10.1108/GM-06-2019-0088


Naciti, V. (2019). Corporate governance and board of directors: The effect of a board composition on firm sustainability performance. Journal of Cleaner Production, 237, 117-127. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.117727

Nadeem, M., Gyapong, E., & Ahmed, A. (2020). Board gender diversity and environmental, social, and economic value creation: Does Family ownership matter? Business Strategy and the Environment, 29(3), 1268-1284. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.2432

Nadeem, M., Zaman, R., & Saleem, I. (2017). Boardroom gender diversity and corporate sustainability practices: Evidence from Australian Securities Exchange listed firms. Journal of Cleaner Production, 149, 874-885. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.02.141

Nielsen, S., & Huse, M. (2010). Directors' Contribution to Board Decision Making and Strategic Engagement: The Role of Equality Perception. European Management Review, 7(1), 16-29. https://doi.org/10.1057/emr.2009.27
Ongsakul, V., Jaroenjitrkam, A., Treepongkaruna, S., & Jiraporn, P. (2022). Does board gender diversity reduce ‘CEO luck’? Accounting & Finance, 62(1), 243-260. https://doi.org/10.1111/acfi.12788

Orazalin, N., & Baydauletov, M. (2020). Corporate social responsibility strategy and corporate environmental and social performance: The moderating role of board gender diversity. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 27(4), 1664-1676. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.1915

Orazalin, N., & Mahmood, M. (2021). Toward sustainable development: Board characteristics, country governance quality, and environmental performance. Business Strategy and the Environment, 30(8), 3569-3588. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.2820

Pandey, R., Biswas, P. K., Ali, M. J., & Mansi, M. (2020). Female directors on the board and cost of debt: evidence from Australia. Accounting & Finance, 60(4), 4031-4060. https://doi.org/10.1111/acfi.12521

Papangkorn, S., Chatjuthamard, P., Jiraporn, P., & Chueykamhang, S. (2019). Female directors and firm performance: Evidence from the Great Recession. International Review of Finance, 21(2), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1111/irfi.12275

Prates, J. C. R., Avelino, B. C., & Bressan, V. G. F. (2023). Diversidade de Gênero e Divulgação Ambiental, Social e de Governança: Evidências do Mercado Brasileiro. Revista Gestão Organizacional, 16(1), 174-191. http://dx.doi.org/10.22277/rgo.v16i1

Prudêncio, P., Forte, H., Crisóstomo, V., & Vasconcelos, A. (2021). Efeito da Diversidade do Conselho de Administração e da Diretoria Executiva na Responsabilidade Social Corporativa. Brazilian Business Review, 18(2), 1-22. https://doi.org/10.15728/bbr.2021.18.2.1

Rahman, M. M., & Saima, F. N. (2018). Efficiency of board composition on firm performance: Empirical evidence from listed manufacturing firms of Bangladesh. The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business, 5(2), 53-61. https://doi.org/10.13106/jafeb.2018.vol5.no2.53

Reguera-Alvarado, N., De Fuentes, P., & Laffarga, J. (2017). Does board gender diversity influence financial performance? Evidence from Spain. Journal of Business Ethics, 141(2), 337-350. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-015-2735-9

Valcanover, V. M., & Sonza, I. B. (2021). Women in charge: Does gender diversity and the performance of female heirs affect the performance of listed companies? Contextus, 19, 345-358. https://doi.org/10.19094/contextus.2021.71385

Van Hoang, T. H., Przychodzen, W., Przychodzen, J., & Segbotangni, E. A. (2021). Environmental transparency and performance: Does the corporate governance matter? Environmental and Sustainability Indicators, 10, 1001-1023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indic.2021.100123

Wang, Y., Wilson, C., & Li, Y. (2021). Gender attitudes and the effect of board gender diversity on corporate environmental responsibility. Emerging Markets Review, 47, 1007-1044. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ememar.2020.100744

Zou, Z., Wu, Y., Zhu, Q., & Yang, S. (2018). Do female executives prioritize corporate social responsibility? Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, 54(13), 2965-2981. https://doi.org/10.1080/1540496X.2018.1453355
Published
2026-01-02
How to Cite
Degenhart, L., Rigon, L., Sonza, I. B., & Zanin, A. (2026). The effect of women on boards and directors on business Sustainability. Enfoque: Reflexão Contábil, 45(1), 76-102. https://doi.org/10.4025/enfoque.v45i1.70177
Section
Original Articles