Female executive officers and corporate social responsibility disclosure: evidence from the banking industry in an emerging market

This paper examines the link between women serving in a top management team (TMT) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure in the banking industry. We assume that female executives have specific characteristics that lead to better CSR disclosure. Using a dataset consisting of 88 banks incorporated in Indonesia, we find that the presence of female executives positively affects CSR disclosure. However, a sensitivity test revealed an interrelationship among governance mechanisms. Specifically, the beneficial effect of the presence of female executives on CSR disclosure is more pronounced in banks listed on the stock market. Further, the effect of women serving in a TMT is observed only in medium and larger banks and in banks without government ownership.