Women in the C-Suite and Carbon Mitigation Actions: Understanding the Impact of the Disruptive Shocks From the COVID19 Pandemic and the Ukraine War

Abstract

Achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 requires the implementation of ambitious policies and initiatives to reduce carbon emissions at the corporate level, which typically requires strong commitment from the top management team. This study examines to what extent greater female representation on top management teams leads to the development of a more advanced and integrated carbon reduction strategy, and how the context of crisis and uncertainty arising from the COVID19 and the Russia–Ukraine war may affect this relationship. Based on an index that measures the level of development of carbon mitigation actions, the findings, based on panel data from 3,212 multinational firms from 2013 to 2022, confirm the driving role of gender diversity in the C-suite in the process of corporate decarbonization, especially in the timeframe leading up to the disruptive period 2020–2022. The results are robust to alternative methodological choices, confirming their research and practical implications.