An analysis of the influence of female directors on environmental innovation: When are women greener?

Abstract

This paper develops a unique analysis of the impact of board gender diversity on environmental innovation, considering diverse factors that determine the influence of female directors. To that end, different methodological approaches are employed, including panel data analysis and quantile regression. A number of robustness tests are also considered. Using a sample composed of the firms listed on the FTSE-250, our results highlight that the one-size-fits-all approach proves to be inappropriate to understand the role of female directors. Particularly, our findings confirm that board gender diversity positively impacts environmental innovation, but only when there are at least three women in the boardroom, and only for firms with greater levels of environmental innovation. Moreover, the effect of board gender diversity is strengthened in the presence of CSR committees, but weakened in boards with larger size and longer tenure. Given the ever-increasing importance of environmental innovation and the ongoing debates surrounding gender diversity, our evidence has direct implications for firms when selecting board members, for regulators and professionals when refining their legislation and recommendations, and for academics when defining theoretical frameworks and methodological approaches.