Beyond the Board: Does Female Leadership Make a Difference to Corporate Sustainability Performance, Disclosure and Assurance?

Abstract

Previous research on gender diversity and corporate sustainability has tended to focus on the association between board diversity and sustainability performance. This study is more expansive in two crucial respects. First, it goes beyond the board to encompass senior executive diversity. Second, it also examines sustainability disclosure and assurance of that disclosure. Using 4618 firm-year observations from companies in the UK FTSE All-Share Index for the period 2002–2022, we find that both forms of gender diversity are positively associated with sustainability performance and disclosure, but not assurance. Sustainability-related executive compensation moderates the relationships. We find no strong evidence of a critical mass effect, but we do see signs that executive gender diversity can substitute for board gender diversity. This comprehensive study of the gender diversity-sustainability nexus provides significant new findings and demonstrates the importance of not leaving female executives out of the picture. Implications for researchers and practitioners are discussed.