Gender Diversity on the Board and Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure in the Digitalisation Era

Abstract

The purpose of this chapter is to examine how gender diversity affects corporate social responsibility disclosure. Considering the socio-economic impact of the deployment of the fourth industry revolution (Industry 4.0), firms have a moral obligation to disclose information on how different stakeholders may be affected by the extensive use of smart technologies in their value-adding activities. The study used multiple regression analysis with 176 publicly traded Indian service sector organizations for the financial year 2020-21. The findings revealed that GD has a negligible impact on CSR filings. By focusing on Indian public firms in the service sector, this study fills a vacuum in the literature. It is the first study to evaluate the impact of women on boards on the scope of CSR reporting in an Indian context. The findings of this study have crucial implications for future board composition as they show that women's representation on boards did not affect CSR disclosures.