Impact of board gender diversity on environmental, social, and ESG controversies performance: The moderating role of United Nations Global Compact and ISO

This study addresses critical research gaps in the relationship between Board Gender Diversity (BGD) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) performance, specifically focusing on environmental, social, and CSR controversies' performance. Employing the Refinitiv methodological approach and utilizing proxies like ISO 14000 and the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) for CSR standardization and network commitment, the study aims to investigate whether these factors moderate the effect of BGD on CSR performance. Our empirical analysis focuses on a dataset of companies listed in the STOXX Europe 600 Index from 2006 to 2021, and adopts a fixed and random effects methodological approach for predicting corporate CSR performance. Findings reveal that a higher proportion of women directors correlates with improved environmental and social performance. The results also reveal that corporate engagement with UNGC and ISO, positively impacts environmental and social performance but also negatively affects CSR controversies performance. Moreover, the relationship between women directors, and environmental, social performance is negatively moderated by UNGC and ISO. These results have essential implications for corporate managers, socially responsible investors, and policymakers. The study adds a nuanced understanding of the interplay between BGD and CSR performance, offering avenues for future research.