Adapting to uncertainty: Gender diversity in boardrooms and its role in enhancing sustainable corporate governance and ESG performance in the era of COVID-19

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Abstract

This research investigates the role of women as a moderator variable in the relationship between governance and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance during the COVID-19 crisis. Using the sample of firms from five Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries, the results show that the presence of women in a board structure has a positive impact on ESG performance during the normal era. However, the woman board members have not proven to strengthen the relationship between governance and ESG performance during the COVID-19 era. This could be caused by the fact that in the COVID-19 era, firms need to concentrate more on short-term profit to survive. However, we believe their presence will improve the company’s reputation and speed up the firm’s recovery during times of crisis.

Keywords: Signaling Theory, ESG, COVID-19, Diversity, Corporate Governance

Authors’ individual contributions: Conceptualization — A.G.; Methodology — M.M.; Validation — A.G.; Formal Analysis — M.M.; Resources — P.M.; Writing — Original Draft — A.G., M.M., and P.M.; Writing — Review & Editing — A.G.; Supervision — A.G. and P.M.

Declaration of conflicting interests: The Authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

JEL Classification: L14, L74, L22

Received: 12.02.2024
Accepted: 30.05.2024
Published online: 03.06.2024

How to cite this paper: Ghofar, A., Muhammad, M., & Maneemai, P. (2024). Adapting to uncertainty: Gender diversity in boardrooms and its role in enhancing sustainable corporate governance and ESG performance in the era of COVID-19. Corporate Board: Role, Duties and Composition, 20(1), 80–91. https://doi.org/10.22495/cbv20i1art7