ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Does Board Gender Diversity Improve
Environmental Disclosure of Multinational
Corporations? A Cross-Cultural Analysis
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1
School of Business, Western Sydney University, 169 Macquarie street, Parramatta, NSW 2150, Australia
2
School of Economics and Management, Southeast University, No. 2 SEU Road, Jiangning District, Nanjing,
Jiangsu Province, 211189, China
Submission date: 2022-02-13
Final revision date: 2022-04-08
Acceptance date: 2022-04-10
Online publication date: 2022-06-09
Publication date: 2022-09-01
Corresponding author
Yu Song
School of Economics and Management, Southeast University, China
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2022;31(5):4239-4257
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ABSTRACT
The relationship between board gender diversity and environmental disclosure has received
considerable scholarly attention. However, the influence of national cultural dimensions on this
relationship has not been extensively studied. Therefore, we investigate the data of multinational
corporations (MNCs) to examine the relationship between board gender diversity and the
environmental disclosure of MNCs, and the moderating effect of national culture. We find that (1)
board gender diversity positively affects the environmental disclosure of MNCs, and (2) power distance,
individualism, masculinity, and uncertainty avoidance negatively moderate this relationship and show
how board members’ gender differences influence the board’s stakeholder management, as well as the
effects of national cultures. We offer suggestions for policymakers to improve corporate environmental
responsibility when formulating related policies by considering board gender diversity and national
culture. We also provide suggestions for MNCs on ways to promote the positive effects of female
directors and national cultural characteristics to maintain corporate reputation.