Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the influence of board gender diversity on environmental decoupling – including both greenwashing and brownwashing – viewed as a critical barrier to corporate accountability and sustainable development. Design/methodology/approach This study analyzes a sample of US listed companies from 2011 to 2021, employing various methodological approaches and robustness tests to ensure the accuracy and reliability of our results. Findings The results highlight that female directors can increase greenwashing and reduce brownwashing. This effect is amplified in environmentally sensitive industries where the pressure for sustainable development is higher. However, in firms with low levels of environmental, social and governance (ESG) controversies, board gender diversity may contribute to greenwashing. Practical implications The findings provide insights for firms to understand what effect board gender diversity has on substantive environmental actions. For policymakers, results suggest that gender measures must be complemented by robust accountability mechanisms to effectively mitigate the risks of environmental decoupling and support sustainable development. Social implications This study underscores the potential unintended consequences of female board representation and highlights the need to address decoupling to protect society from misleading information and thereby ensure that corporate transparency contributes to genuine sustainable development. Originality/value Moving beyond a generic ESG focus, the study provides a more nuanced understanding of how board gender diversity affects environmental decoupling, positioning it as a critical factor that determines corporate transparency and its ultimate contribution to sustainable development.
Ureba et al. (Mon,) studied this question.