Audit committee and CSR disclosure: does the gender diversity of audit committee members matter?

Purpose The gender theory demonstrates that women have made significant contributions to the increases of firm performance and monitoring the management. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the association between audit committee gender diversity (ACGD) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure of the firms listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange. Design/methodology/approach The authors conduct regression analysis to test the association between the presence of female members on the AC and CSR disclosure. The final sample in this study consists of 693 firm‐year observations from Iranian listed firms over the period 2012–2018. Moreover, to ensure the robustness of the findings, this study uses a series of sensitivity analysis tests. Findings The regression results show that ACGD has a significant positive influence on the level of CSR disclosure. The finding is robust to alternative measure of ACGD, CSR disclosure and endogeneity concern. Practical implications The findings have numerous practical implications for regulators, policy makers, managers and investors. This study has implications for Iranian regulators and policymakers and sends positive signal about recommending or requiring gender diversity on the board and its subgroups such as AC. Furthermore, the findings have implications for the investors, so that they have to make informed investment decisions given both financial factors and ACGD, and eventually invest in those firms with women membership in their AC’s composition. Social implications Concerning with board of directors and the general assembly of shareholders, as the findings suggest the significant role of ACGD in the enhancement of CSR disclosure, boards and the general assembly are to engage women in AC composition to both increase AC efficiency and improve CSR disclosure level. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study of its kind that investigates the association between ACGD and CSR disclosure in emerging capital markets, and therefore can contribute to extend the current literature on CSR in developing countries, especially Iran’s emerging capital market.