From diversity to sustainability: Environmental and social spillover effects of board gender quotas
利用欧洲董事会性别配额的逐步实施，研究发现该政策通过增加ESG委员会、改善创新和资源利用等机制，提升了企业的环境与社会绩效，且对公众曝光度较低的企业影响更强。
Exploiting the staggered implementation of board gender quotas in Europe, this study examines their effect on firms’ environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance. I find that firms’ environmental and social performance increases subsequent to the quotas and the rise of women’s representation on the board. I explore the mechanisms at play and show that the effect is driven by more ESG committees, improved innovation, resource use, and human rights considerations. The positive quota effect on environmental and social outcomes is strongest for less publicly exposed firms. My cross-sectional results suggest that the quota effect is partly crowded out by the positive sustainability effect of public pressure. Taken together, my results point towards positive spillover effects of a governance regulation on other sustainability dimensions. Further, they provide an understanding of the mechanisms behind these effects, relevant to policymakers and practitioners.