Breaking through the glass ceiling: women on the board as a mechanism for greater environmental transparency
Abstract
Purpose
This research paper aims to examine the influence of greater female participation on the board of directors on the environmental transparency of companies.
Design/methodology/approach
To achieve the purpose of this study, the authors analyzed the environmental transparency of 412 companies in the energy sector, headquartered in 19 countries, during a four-year period (2016 to 2019).
Findings
The data reveal that gender diversity has a positive effect on the environmental transparency of companies in developed countries and on the total model. Furthermore, after removing the US companies, the results remained the same, indicating that companies with more women on the board tend to have greater environmental transparency. Regarding corporate governance variables, the results show that companies that have a corporate social responsibility committee tend to have greater environmental transparency, both in emerging countries and in developed countries.
Practical implications
The findings indicate that if companies aim to have greater environmental transparency, they must encourage female participation on boards, giving them equal opportunities for professional growth. Organizations must deconstruct the ideology that women are fewer valuable members of their boards, which limits their contribution to organizational success. Additionally, regulators can encourage greater female participation on boards through the implementation of quota laws.
Originality/value
The authors’ evidence indicates that the presence of women on board is an antecedent of greater quality in the dissemination of environmental information. Thus, managers of companies in the energy sector must understand that diversity on the board affects communication with its stakeholders through environmental transparency.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to express their sincere thanks to the editor and the anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments on earlier drafts of this paper. The authors also grateful for the financial support provided by CAP ES (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - Brasil).
Citation
Pinheiro, A.B., dos Santos, J.I.A.S., Costa, M.F.d. and Carraro, W.B.W.H. (2024), "Breaking through the glass ceiling: women on the board as a mechanism for greater environmental transparency", International Journal of Development Issues, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJDI-01-2024-0007
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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