IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jmgtgv/v27y2023i4d10.1007_s10997-022-09658-1.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Gender diversity on board committees and ESG disclosure: evidence from Canada

Author

Listed:
  • Hanen Khemakhem

    (University of Québec in Montréal)

  • Paulina Arroyo

    (University of Québec in Montréal)

  • Julio Montecinos

    (École de Technologie Supérieure Montréal)

Abstract

Gender diversity on the board of directors can influence companies’ voluntary disclosure such as their environmental, social and governance disclosure (ESG). A growing body of literature suggests that most of the work of the board occurs in committees, which are smaller working groups within the board. In a smaller working group, even a small number of women can represent a higher proportion of the group. Therefore, the influence of gender diversity on a board’s decisions can be more prevalent in committees, since women’s ideas and opinions can have more of an impact in smaller working groups. By being on committees, women have the chance to actively contribute to board tasks and decisions. This study investigates the relationship between the gender diversity of the board and its main committees and the ESG disclosure of Canadian-listed companies. The results indicate a positive and significant relationship between female representation on the board and committees and ESG disclosure. Using a structural equation model, the results suggest that there is a joint influence on ESG disclosure of gender diversity at the board level and at the committee. level. In addition, the study demonstrates that for ESG disclosure, the influence of female representation on committees is higher than the influence of female representation on the board. This study shows that by being on committees, women can better contribute to board decisions and that the influence of board gender diversity is not limited to female representation on the board but also comes from female representation on committees.

Suggested Citation

  • Hanen Khemakhem & Paulina Arroyo & Julio Montecinos, 2023. "Gender diversity on board committees and ESG disclosure: evidence from Canada," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 27(4), pages 1397-1422, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jmgtgv:v:27:y:2023:i:4:d:10.1007_s10997-022-09658-1
    DOI: 10.1007/s10997-022-09658-1
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10997-022-09658-1
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10997-022-09658-1?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Adams, Renée B. & Ferreira, Daniel, 2009. "Women in the boardroom and their impact on governance and performance," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(2), pages 291-309, November.
    2. Maria Baldini & Lorenzo Dal Maso & Giovanni Liberatore & Francesco Mazzi & Simone Terzani, 2018. "Role of Country- and Firm-Level Determinants in Environmental, Social, and Governance Disclosure," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 150(1), pages 79-98, June.
    3. Niamh Brennan & Jacqueline McCafferty, 1997. "Corporate Governance Practices in Irish Companies," Open Access publications 10197/2930, Research Repository, University College Dublin.
    4. Green, Colin P. & Homroy, Swarnodeep, 2018. "Female directors, board committees and firm performance," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 19-38.
    5. Walid Ben-Amar & Millicent Chang & Philip McIlkenny, 2017. "Board Gender Diversity and Corporate Response to Sustainability Initiatives: Evidence from the Carbon Disclosure Project," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 142(2), pages 369-383, May.
    6. Kalin D. Kolev & David B. Wangrow & Vincent L. Barker & Donald J. Schepker, 2019. "Board Committees in Corporate Governance: A Cross‐Disciplinary Review and Agenda for the Future," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 56(6), pages 1138-1193, September.
    7. Trang Cam Hoang & Indra Abeysekera & Shiguang Ma, 2018. "Board Diversity and Corporate Social Disclosure: Evidence from Vietnam," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 151(3), pages 833-852, September.
    8. Francisco Bravo & Nuria Reguera‐Alvarado, 2019. "Sustainable development disclosure: Environmental, social, and governance reporting and gender diversity in the audit committee," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(2), pages 418-429, February.
    9. Ishmael Tingbani & Lyton Chithambo & Venancio Tauringana & Nikolaos Papanikolaou, 2020. "Board gender diversity, environmental committee and greenhouse gas voluntary disclosures," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(6), pages 2194-2210, September.
    10. Xinshu Zhao & John G. Lynch & Qimei Chen, 2010. "Reconsidering Baron and Kenny: Myths and Truths about Mediation Analysis," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 37(2), pages 197-206, August.
    11. Husted, Bryan W. & Sousa-Filho, José Milton de, 2019. "Board structure and environmental, social, and governance disclosure in Latin America," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 220-227.
    12. Ranjith Appuhami & Shamim Tashakor, 2017. "The Impact of Audit Committee Characteristics on CSR Disclosure: An Analysis of Australian Firms," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 27(4), pages 400-420, December.
    13. Liao, Lin & Luo, Le & Tang, Qingliang, 2015. "Gender diversity, board independence, environmental committee and greenhouse gas disclosure," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 47(4), pages 409-424.
    14. Nooraisah Katmon & Zam Zuriyati Mohamad & Norlia Mat Norwani & Omar Al Farooque, 2019. "Comprehensive Board Diversity and Quality of Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure: Evidence from an Emerging Market," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 157(2), pages 447-481, June.
    15. Mehmet Mehmetoglu, 2018. "medsem: a Stata package for statistical mediation analysis," International Journal of Computational Economics and Econometrics, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 8(1), pages 63-78.
    16. Orhun Guldiken & Mark R. Mallon & Stav Fainshmidt & William Q. Judge & Cynthia E. Clark, 2019. "Beyond tokenism: How strategic leaders influence more meaningful gender diversity on boards of directors," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(12), pages 2024-2046, December.
    17. Isabel‐María García‐Sánchez & Marcelle Colares Oliveira & Jennifer Martínez‐Ferrero, 2020. "Female directors and gender issues reporting: The impact of stakeholder engagement at country level," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(1), pages 369-382, January.
    18. de Villiers, Charl & Jia, Jing & Li, Zhongtian, 2022. "Are boards' risk management committees associated with firms’ environmental performance?," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(1).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Abbasi, Kaleemullah & Alam, Ashraful & Borhan Uddin Bhuiyan, Md. & Tariqul Islam, Md, 2024. "Does female director expertise on audit committees matter for carbon disclosures? Evidence from the United Kingdom," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 55(C).
    2. Sonia Boukattaya & Zied Ftiti & Maher Jeriji & Waël Louhichi, 2024. "Does committees' gender diversity affect firms' environmental and social performance?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(4), pages 3550-3568, May.
    3. Suham Cahyono & Iman Harymawan & Khairul Anuar Kamarudin, 2023. "The impacts of tenure diversity on boardroom and corporate carbon emission performance: Exploring from the moderating role of corporate innovation," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(5), pages 2507-2535, September.
    4. Ardianto Ardianto & Nadia Anridho & Suham Cahyono & Abu Hanifah Md. Noman Alam & Iman Harymawan, 2024. "The role of risk management committee on the relationship between corporate carbon emission disclosure and capital structure," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(3), pages 2127-2158, May.
    5. Alessandra Centinaio, 2024. "How gender diversity in boards affects disclosure? A literature review," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(3), pages 2352-2382, May.
    6. Sara De Masi & Agnieszka Słomka‐Gołębiowska & Claudio Becagli & Andrea Paci, 2021. "Toward sustainable corporate behavior: The effect of the critical mass of female directors on environmental, social, and governance disclosure," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(4), pages 1865-1878, May.
    7. Ge Wang & Huijin Zhang & Saixing Zeng & Xiaohua Meng & Han Lin, 2023. "Reporting on sustainable development: Configurational effects of top management team and corporate characteristics on environmental information disclosure," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(1), pages 28-52, January.
    8. Halit Gonenc & Antonina V. Krasnikova, 2022. "Board Gender Diversity and Voluntary Carbon Emission Disclosure," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-18, November.
    9. Chu, Shaner, 2024. "Are women greener? Board gender diversity and corporate green technology innovation in China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 93(PA), pages 1001-1020.
    10. Lucrezia Songini & Anna Pistoni & Patrizia Tettamanzi & Fabrizio Fratini & Valentina Minutiello, 2022. "Integrated reporting quality and BoD characteristics: an empirical analysis," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 26(2), pages 579-620, June.
    11. Junhui Wang & Jerry Sun, 2022. "The role of audit committees in social responsibility and environmental disclosures: evidence from Chinese energy sector," International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 19(1), pages 113-128, March.
    12. Caby, Jérôme & Coron, Clotilde & Ziane, Ydriss, 2024. "How does gender diversity in top management teams affect carbon disclosure and its quality: Evidence from the technological industry," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 199(C).
    13. Ayman Issa & Mohammad A. A. Zaid & Jalal Rajeh Hanaysha, 2022. "Exploring the relationship between female director's profile and sustainability performance: Evidence from the Middle East," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(6), pages 1980-2002, September.
    14. Elisa Menicucci & Guido Paolucci, 2022. "Board Diversity and ESG Performance: Evidence from the Italian Banking Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-19, October.
    15. Akshita Arora & Khaoula Aliani, 2024. "Nexus between corporate environmental disclosures and gender diversity: Interaction effects of board independence," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(2), pages 1113-1128, February.
    16. Lorenzo Ardito & Rosa Maria Dangelico & Antonio Messeni Petruzzelli, 2021. "The link between female representation in the boards of directors and corporate social responsibility: Evidence from B corps," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(2), pages 704-720, March.
    17. Ayman Issa, 2023. "Shaping a sustainable future: The impact of board gender diversity on clean energy use and the moderating role of environmental, social and governance controversies," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(6), pages 2731-2746, November.
    18. Konadu, Renata & Ahinful, Gabriel Sam & Boakye, Danquah Jeff & Elbardan, Hany, 2022. "Board gender diversity, environmental innovation and corporate carbon emissions," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    19. Melsa Ararat & Borhan Sayedy, 2019. "Gender and Climate Change Disclosure: An Interdimensional Policy Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(24), pages 1-19, December.
    20. René P. Orij & Saif Rehman & Hashim Khan & Faisal Khan, 2021. "Is CSR the new competitive environment for CEOs? The association between CEO turnover, corporate social responsibility and board gender diversity: Asian evidence," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(2), pages 731-747, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:jmgtgv:v:27:y:2023:i:4:d:10.1007_s10997-022-09658-1. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.