BOARD GENDER DIVERSITY AND CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY DISCLOSURE AMONG LISTED CONSUMER GOODS COMPANIES IN NIGERIA

Abstract

Board gender diversity is a key driver of good corporate governance having taken into consideration that corporate governance has the potential to limit or strengthen the impact of corporate social responsibility. This study therefore examined the influence of board gender diversity on the corporate social responsibility disclosure among listed consumer goods businesses in Nigeria. The research population comprised 21 listed firms, and a sample of 14 listed companies was selected using the purposive sampling technique. Secondary data was collected from the annual reports of 14 representative firms from 2012 -2022, and panel estimation regression techniques were used to analyze the data .The results indicated that females on board and female expert on board had favourable and substantial effect on Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure with (t=3.045, t=3.521, p<0.05), which suggests that diverse board with extensive knowledge and core competencies ensures effective oversight and monitoring to enhance Corporate Social Responsibility quality. The study revealed that firm age (t= 7.323, p<0.05) and firm size (t= 4.774, p<0.05) both had a favourable and substantial effect on corporate social responsibility disclosure. Additionally, the research indicated that gender diversity positively influenced the Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure of Nigerian listed consumer goods companies. Based on these findings, the study recommended that companies should consider increasing the representation of women on their boards, as their presence appeared to influence decisions in favor of Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure.