Voluntary Disclosure of Workforce Gender Diversity
研究了企业披露劳动力性别多样性的动机，发现女性员工比例高的企业更倾向于披露，但披露在女性比例低的行业更普遍，且披露能带来更好的媒体评价和吸引性别视角ESG基金。
ABSTRACT We examine managerial incentives to disclose the gender diversity of a firm’s workforce. We exploit information from employees’ online profiles to infer the gender diversity of nondisclosing firms. Within industry, we find that firms are more likely to disclose gender diversity when women comprise a higher proportion of their workforce, consistent with managerial incentives to disclose favorable information. However, disclosure is more prevalent in industries with a lower proportion of female employees, consistent with a poor gender diversity environment making a firm’s gender diversity appear relatively more favorable. Regarding the potential benefits of disclosure, disclosing firms enjoy more favorable media coverage of the firm’s diversity and attract a larger number of gender-lens ESG funds. Disclosing firms with a higher proportion of female employees enjoy greater benefits. Overall, our study broadens our understanding of the evolving corporate disclosure landscape by providing evidence on firms’ incentives to disclose workforce gender diversity. Data availability: All data used in this study are publicly available from sources identified in the manuscript. JEL Classifications: G10; G20; M41.