Board Gender Diversity Reform and Corporate Carbon Emissions

We examine the impact of international gender diversity reforms in the board of directors on carbon emissions. Employing a difference-in-differences-in-differences analysis, we analyze the relationship between the increase in female representation on boards following these reforms and changes in firms' carbon emissions. Our results reveal a significant decline in carbon emissions with an increase in the proportion of female board members. The reduction in carbon emissions is observed to be more pronounced when gender reform is legally enforced. Additionally, our findings indicate that a combination of climate regulations and higher female representation on boards leads to a decline in both, direct and indirect carbon emissions. These findings underscore the importance of legal enforcement in promoting board gender diversity, which, in turn, plays a critical role in addressing climate change