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Agents of change: Women in top management and corporate environmental performance
Author(s) -
Burkhardt Kirsten,
Nguyen Pascal,
Poincelot Evelyne
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
corporate social responsibility and environmental management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.519
H-Index - 73
eISSN - 1535-3966
pISSN - 1535-3958
DOI - 10.1002/csr.1907
Subject(s) - gender diversity , business , socialization , diversity (politics) , resource (disambiguation) , corporate social responsibility , industrial organization , public relations , psychology , corporate governance , social psychology , political science , computer network , finance , computer science , law
We analyze the influence of gender diversity in top management on the environmental performance of French firms. Consistent with gender socialization theory, which posits that women are raised from childhood to be more nurturing and compassionate for others, we find that firms with more women in top management exhibit higher environmental performance. This result extends those already reported in the literature regarding the effect of gender diversity at board level. We also show that women in top management are associated with several key indicators such as development of eco‐friendly products and commitment to resource reduction. Furthermore, we find that the influence of women is weaker in firms with a lower environmental performance and in firms with high‐growth opportunities because these firms are likely to prioritize their own development. This suggests, in line with social role theory, that women also adapt into the role that organizations expect from them.