Board gender diversity and corporate social performance: the moderating effect of family firms

Although previous research has separately investigated the impact of board gender diversity (BGD) and ownership structure on corporate social performance (CSP), there is a lack of research examining their joint effect on CSP. We discuss this joint effect in the French context featuring the dominance of family-controlled firms. Our sample comprises 2,674 firm-year observations of French listed firms from 2006 to 2019, and we use the 2011 gender quota regulatory change as an exogenous shock. Unlike most studies, we control for potential sources of endogeneity using the generalized method of moments estimator. Our results show that BGD significantly influences CSP and that family firms strengthen the relationship between female directors and CSP. In addition, we reveal that a critical mass of women significantly increases CSP, supporting the effective role of BGD in promoting CSP. Finally, the findings reveal that boardroom gender diversity regulations can be considered an exogenous shock to female representation and, consequently, to CSP. Our results contribute to the research on CSP and corporate governance and provide important practical implications for regulators, management, and scholars.