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Female representation on boards and carbon emissions: International evidence

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  • Rjiba, Hatem
  • Thavaharan, Tharshan

Abstract

This paper examines the effect of board gender diversity on firms’ carbon emissions. Using a sample of firms from 43 countries during the 2005–2019 period, we establish that firms with more gender-diverse boards have a lower carbon footprint. Our results are shown to be robust for a battery of sensitivity checks, including the use of alternative definitions of board gender diversity, multiple estimation methods, inclusion of additional control variables, and potential endogeneity concerns.

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  • Rjiba, Hatem & Thavaharan, Tharshan, 2022. "Female representation on boards and carbon emissions: International evidence," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:finlet:v:49:y:2022:i:c:s1544612322003002
    DOI: 10.1016/j.frl.2022.103079
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    3. Lu, Juan & Li, He & Yang, Ran, 2024. "Low carbon finance drives corporate carbon emissions reduction: A perspective from issuing carbon neutral bonds," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 203(C).
    4. Khalil Nimer & Muath Abdelqader & Cemil Kuzey & Ali Uyar, 2024. "Emission targeting and carbon emissions: The moderating effect of female directors," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(4), pages 3480-3504, May.
    5. Yu, Jian & Liu, Peng & Fu, Dahai & Shi, Xunpeng, 2023. "How do power shortages affect CO2 emission intensity? Firm-level evidence from China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 282(C).
    6. Li, Yu & Zhu, Yi & Tan, Weijie & Qi, Tiange & Huang, Yongjian, 2024. "Female executive and energy consumption intensity: The role of green innovation," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    7. Xiaowei Ding & Lyu Ye & Yueying Yang & Olga Efimova & Alina Steblyanskaya & Junfeng Zhang, 2022. "The Impact Mechanism of Environmental Information Disclosure on Corporate Sustainability Performance—Micro-Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-22, September.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Carbon emissions; Board gender diversity; Corporate governance;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance
    • K32 - Law and Economics - - Other Substantive Areas of Law - - - Energy, Environmental, Health, and Safety Law
    • M14 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Corporate Culture; Diversity; Social Responsibility

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