Gender policies on board of directors and sustainable development

Abstract Gender policies concerning the composition of board of directors are included in the legislation of many countries, especially promoted by the European Commission to reach gender equality in the processes of decision making. On the other hand, in the last decades, sustainable development problems caused by economic progress have enhanced the interest in environmental policies. Using the data from top Spanish listed companies, from 2003 to 2017, we test if the higher number of women on their board influences corporate social responsibility (CSR), through the disclosure of reports following the Global Reporting Initiative guidelines and the inclusion in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. By using probit models and instrumental variable estimation to address endogeneity and reverse causality problems, we find that the female presence in management positions is positively linked to a voluntary disclosure of CSR reports and the inclusion in a sustainability index, which supports gender legislation.