Bridging Governance and Sustainability: Audit Committees as Moderators in the Board Gender Diversity–ESG Nexus in the MENAT Context

Using a sample of 68 listed banks in the MENAT region from 2017 to 2023, this study examines the effect of gender diversity on ESG disclosure and the moderating role of audit committees, employing the system GMM estimator to address potential endogeneity concerns. The results reveal that the proportion of women on boards has a positive impact on ESG disclosure. Nonetheless, the relation is negatively moderated by audit committees, revealing the boundaries of the beneficial effect of gender diversity in the presence of traditional governance. The findings should be interpreted with caution but suggest that gender diversity may be associated with improved transparency and sustainability practices among firms in the MENAT region. These results may inform policy discussions regarding the potential role of gender diversity in strengthening corporate governance and sustainability outcomes. Furthermore, the evidence provides indicative support for the need for audit committees to adopt more targeted monitoring approaches across individual ESG pillars to improve oversight effectiveness.