Do women on corporate boards enhance biodiversity disclosure? Evidence from South Africa

Matemane, Reon; Ojeyinka, Titus Ayobami; Abongeh, Tunyi Tunyi; Lemma, Tesfaye

doi:10.1108/jaee-02-2025-0058

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Do women on corporate boards enhance biodiversity disclosure? Evidence from South Africa

Reon Matemane

, Titus Ayobami Ojeyinka

, Tunyi Tunyi Abongeh

, Tesfaye Lemma

Journal of Accounting in Emerging Economies, Pages: 1 - 35

Swansea University Author: Tunyi Tunyi Abongeh

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Author accepted manuscript document released under the terms of a Creative Commons CC-BY licence using the Swansea University Research Publications Policy (rights retention).
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DOI (Published version): 10.1108/jaee-02-2025-0058

Abstract

Purpose This study investigates whether board gender diversity enhances biodiversity disclosure among listed firms in South Africa. Drawing on legitimacy theory, resource-based view and critical mass theory, we examine the extent to which female board representation drives more comprehensive biodive...

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Published in:	Journal of Accounting in Emerging Economies
ISSN:	2042-1168 2042-1176
Published:	Emerald 2025
Online Access:	Check full text
URI:	https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa70749

first_indexed	2025-10-21T17:16:25Z
last_indexed	2025-11-22T05:31:57Z
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Drawing on legitimacy theory, resource-based view and critical mass theory, we examine the extent to which female board representation drives more comprehensive biodiversity reporting, particularly in environmentally sensitive sectors, and whether a threshold effect strengthens this relationship. Design/methodology/approach We use panel data comprising 1,016 firm-year observations from 254 Johannesburg Stock Exchange−listed firms between 2018 and 2021. The analysis relies on OLS regressions with industry and year-fixed effects, as well as firm-fixed effects models. We further test for the presence of a critical mass effect, investigate sectoral heterogeneity and perform robustness checks using alternative specifications and strategies to address endogeneity concerns. Findings The results provide strong and consistent evidence that board gender diversity is positively associated with biodiversity disclosure. This effect is stronger in firms with three or more female directors and in environmentally sensitive industries, although it is also present among non-financial firms more broadly. The positive association is concentrated in disclosure dimensions related to policies, targets, and governance, but is not evident in more technical areas such as biodiversity valuation, risk quantification, and impact measurement. This suggests that gender-diverse boards may drive strategic commitment but not necessarily technical implementation. Practical implications The findings highlight the importance of gender diversity as a governance lever for promoting biodiversity accountability, but also suggest it must be complemented by technical capacity, environmental expertise, and organizational systems. Policymakers, investors and sustainability advocates should view board gender diversity as an enabling factor that requires additional support to translate commitment into comprehensive reporting. Originality/value This study extends the literature by providing novel evidence on the governance determinants of biodiversity disclosure in an emerging market context. It unpacks the heterogeneous nature of biodiversity reporting and shows that board composition influences strategic disclosure elements more than technical ones. 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spelling	2025-11-21T14:04:32.3286234 v2 70749 2025-10-21 Do women on corporate boards enhance biodiversity disclosure? Evidence from South Africa eefe2792c8eed5b49feede33981dfa53 0000-0002-5761-931X Tunyi Tunyi Abongeh Tunyi Tunyi Abongeh true false 2025-10-21 CBAE Purpose This study investigates whether board gender diversity enhances biodiversity disclosure among listed firms in South Africa. Drawing on legitimacy theory, resource-based view and critical mass theory, we examine the extent to which female board representation drives more comprehensive biodiversity reporting, particularly in environmentally sensitive sectors, and whether a threshold effect strengthens this relationship. Design/methodology/approach We use panel data comprising 1,016 firm-year observations from 254 Johannesburg Stock Exchange−listed firms between 2018 and 2021. The analysis relies on OLS regressions with industry and year-fixed effects, as well as firm-fixed effects models. We further test for the presence of a critical mass effect, investigate sectoral heterogeneity and perform robustness checks using alternative specifications and strategies to address endogeneity concerns. Findings The results provide strong and consistent evidence that board gender diversity is positively associated with biodiversity disclosure. This effect is stronger in firms with three or more female directors and in environmentally sensitive industries, although it is also present among non-financial firms more broadly. The positive association is concentrated in disclosure dimensions related to policies, targets, and governance, but is not evident in more technical areas such as biodiversity valuation, risk quantification, and impact measurement. This suggests that gender-diverse boards may drive strategic commitment but not necessarily technical implementation. Practical implications The findings highlight the importance of gender diversity as a governance lever for promoting biodiversity accountability, but also suggest it must be complemented by technical capacity, environmental expertise, and organizational systems. Policymakers, investors and sustainability advocates should view board gender diversity as an enabling factor that requires additional support to translate commitment into comprehensive reporting. Originality/value This study extends the literature by providing novel evidence on the governance determinants of biodiversity disclosure in an emerging market context. It unpacks the heterogeneous nature of biodiversity reporting and shows that board composition influences strategic disclosure elements more than technical ones. The findings have implications for corporate governance reform, disclosure policy and research on gender and sustainability. Journal Article Journal of Accounting in Emerging Economies 0 1 35 Emerald 2042-1168 2042-1176 Biodiversity disclosure, Gender diversity, Critical mass, Corporate boards, South Africa 21 10 2025 2025-10-21 10.1108/jaee-02-2025-0058 COLLEGE NANME Management School COLLEGE CODE CBAE Swansea University Not Required 2025-11-21T14:04:32.3286234 2025-10-21T18:12:32.6561665 Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences School of Management - Accounting and Finance Reon Matemane 0000-0003-0225-3928 1 Titus Ayobami Ojeyinka 0000-0002-4007-7120 2 Tunyi Tunyi Abongeh 0000-0002-5761-931X 3 Tesfaye Lemma 0000-0001-9806-3170 4 70749__35590__11f503887dc8433aa631085f62572a6d.pdf 70749.AAM.pdf 2025-11-10T11:08:43.6101749 Output 683442 application/pdf Accepted Manuscript true Author accepted manuscript document released under the terms of a Creative Commons CC-BY licence using the Swansea University Research Publications Policy (rights retention). true eng https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
title	Do women on corporate boards enhance biodiversity disclosure? Evidence from South Africa
spellingShingle	Do women on corporate boards enhance biodiversity disclosure? Evidence from South Africa Tunyi Tunyi Abongeh
title_short	Do women on corporate boards enhance biodiversity disclosure? Evidence from South Africa
title_full	Do women on corporate boards enhance biodiversity disclosure? Evidence from South Africa
title_fullStr	Do women on corporate boards enhance biodiversity disclosure? Evidence from South Africa
title_full_unstemmed	Do women on corporate boards enhance biodiversity disclosure? Evidence from South Africa
title_sort	Do women on corporate boards enhance biodiversity disclosure? Evidence from South Africa
author_id_str_mv	eefe2792c8eed5b49feede33981dfa53
author_id_fullname_str_mv	eefe2792c8eed5b49feede33981dfa53_***_Tunyi Tunyi Abongeh
author	Tunyi Tunyi Abongeh
author2	Reon Matemane Titus Ayobami Ojeyinka Tunyi Tunyi Abongeh Tesfaye Lemma
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description	Purpose This study investigates whether board gender diversity enhances biodiversity disclosure among listed firms in South Africa. Drawing on legitimacy theory, resource-based view and critical mass theory, we examine the extent to which female board representation drives more comprehensive biodiversity reporting, particularly in environmentally sensitive sectors, and whether a threshold effect strengthens this relationship. Design/methodology/approach We use panel data comprising 1,016 firm-year observations from 254 Johannesburg Stock Exchange−listed firms between 2018 and 2021. The analysis relies on OLS regressions with industry and year-fixed effects, as well as firm-fixed effects models. We further test for the presence of a critical mass effect, investigate sectoral heterogeneity and perform robustness checks using alternative specifications and strategies to address endogeneity concerns. Findings The results provide strong and consistent evidence that board gender diversity is positively associated with biodiversity disclosure. This effect is stronger in firms with three or more female directors and in environmentally sensitive industries, although it is also present among non-financial firms more broadly. The positive association is concentrated in disclosure dimensions related to policies, targets, and governance, but is not evident in more technical areas such as biodiversity valuation, risk quantification, and impact measurement. This suggests that gender-diverse boards may drive strategic commitment but not necessarily technical implementation. Practical implications The findings highlight the importance of gender diversity as a governance lever for promoting biodiversity accountability, but also suggest it must be complemented by technical capacity, environmental expertise, and organizational systems. Policymakers, investors and sustainability advocates should view board gender diversity as an enabling factor that requires additional support to translate commitment into comprehensive reporting. Originality/value This study extends the literature by providing novel evidence on the governance determinants of biodiversity disclosure in an emerging market context. It unpacks the heterogeneous nature of biodiversity reporting and shows that board composition influences strategic disclosure elements more than technical ones. The findings have implications for corporate governance reform, disclosure policy and research on gender and sustainability.
published_date	2025-10-21T05:31:35Z
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Do women on corporate boards enhance biodiversity disclosure? Evidence from South Africa

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