Political ties of female directors and ESG: The mediating role of environmental attention

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Abstract

We study whether environmental attention mediates the link between female directors’ political background (FDPB) and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance in Chinese A-Share listed companies from 2018 to 2022 (21,145 firm-years). Guided by upper echelons theory (UET), the attention-based view (ABV), and resource dependence theory (RDT), we test mediation using ordinary least squares (OLS) and firm-year fixed-effects models with clustered errors. OLS shows a positive total effect of FDPB on ESG, but environmental attention is negatively associated with ESG, yielding inconsistent mediation (suppression). In fixed-effects, the FDPB-ESG link becomes statistically insignificant, while the negative attention-ESG association persists. These results suggest politically connected female directors may directly improve ESG via resource access and legitimacy, yet measured environmental attention — likely capturing reactive/problem-focused discourse — correlates with lower ESG ratings. We recommend distinguishing quantity vs. quality of attention, and aligning board attention with executive follow-through. The study adds to corporate governance and ESG scholarship by clarifying when and how politically connected women directors shape sustainability outcomes in China.

Keywords: Female Directors, Political Connections, Environmental Attention, ESG Performance, Mediation Analysis, Chinese Listed Companies, Board Diversity, Corporate Governance, Sustainability, Resource Dependence Theory

Authors’ individual contributions: Conceptualization — L.W. and S.N.A.; Methodology — L.W., S.N.A., and J.S.T.; Validation — J.S.T. and M.S.; Formal Analysis — L.W. and M.S.; Investigation — L.W., M.S., and Z.Y.; Resources — Z.Y. and K.L.; Data Curation — L.W., M.S., and K.L.; Writing — Original Draft — L.W.; Writing — Review & Editing — S.N.A., J.S.T., M.S., Z.Y., and K.L.; Visualization — L.W. and J.S.T.; Supervision — S.N.A.; Project Administration — Z.Y.; Funding Acquisition — S.N.A.

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

JEL Classification: C33, D83, G34, M14, Q56

Received: 09.09.2025
Revised: 10.10.2025; 04.11.2025
Accepted: 14.11.2025
Published online: 17.11.2025

How to cite this paper: Wang, L., Abdullah, S. N., See Toh, J. S., Sun, M., Yang, Z., & Li, K. (2025). Political ties of female directors and ESG: The mediating role of environmental attention. Corporate Board: Role, Duties and Composition, 21(3), 87–96. https://doi.org/10.22495/cbv21i3art8