Board gender diversity and environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosure: Is it different for developed and developing nations?

This paper examines the influence of board gender diversity on the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) disclosure quality of energy firms. Particularly, the study evaluates the possible differences in the influence of board gender diversity on the ESG disclosure practice of firms in developed and developing nations. Previous studies have used single country based analysis and presented diverse results, however this study uses data from 48 countries from both developed and developing nations over a period of 13 years (from year 2004 to 2016). The study finds that, in general, female directors favorably influence the quality of disclosure of ESG and its individual components (except governance). However, sub‐sample analysis of firms in developed and developing nations finds that the relationships are significant only for the sample of firms in developed nations. The results show that there are differences in the role female directors play in influencing ESG disclosure for developed and developing countries, thus this study highlights the importance of accounting standards in strengthening the contribution of female directors on corporate boards, especially in developing countries. The study also highlights the need to assess ESG components separately, in addition to the overall component, when conducting studies on ESG.