Female board representation and carbon performance: Do gender quotas and governance codes matter?

Purpose – This study explores the impact of board gender diversity (BGEND) on corporate carbon performance in countries with different gender-related reforms. Design/methodology/approach – The study applies panel regression methods to test the hypotheses using an international dataset and addresses endogeneity issues using the two-stage least squares (2SLS), propensity score matching (PSM), and Heckman models. Findings – The results show that higher BGEND significantly reduces carbon emissions in quota countries but not in governance code countries. The additional analysis shows that firms with higher BGEND exhibit better carbon performance following the introduction of quotas. The results also show the effectiveness of BGEND in improving carbon performance in countries with an Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). Practical implications – The findings suggest that higher BGEND leads to enhanced corporate sustainability through reduced carbon emissions, emphasizing the importance of adopting gender quota laws. Our findings also suggest that national governments should incorporate specific targets into gender diversity recommendations when developing corporate governance codes. Originality/value – The study provides new evidence on the relationship between BGEND and carbon emissions in a multi-country context and suggests that higher BGEND reduces carbon emissions in countries with quotas, and most importantly, following the introduction of gender quotas, but has no impact on carbon performance in countries with governance codes.