Journal of Applied Finance & Banking

Female CEO and ESG Performance

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• Abstract

   

  This study examines whether female CEOs influence firm’s ESG performance using a sample of 1,722 non-financial firms listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) and the Taipei Exchange (TPEx) during 2016~2024. Drawing on upper echelons theory, together with insights from sociology and organizational behavior suggesting that female leaders tend to exhibit greater risk aversion, stronger ethical orientation, higher stakeholder concern, and more collaborative leadership styles, this study predicts that female executives are more likely to promote ESG-related initiatives. However, critical mass theory and tokenism suggest that female CEOs may face greater organizational constraints, limiting their ability to translate these leadership characteristics into firm-level ESG outcomes. Using correlation analysis and multiple regression estimations, the empirical results show that firms led by female CEOs, female vice CEOs, or both exhibit significantly higher overall ESG performance and stronger environmental, social, and governance performance. In contrast, when a female CEO simultaneously serves as board chair (CEO duality), overall ESG performance declines, primarily because of weaker governance performance, although environmental performance remains significantly stronger.

   

  JEL classification numbers: G34, G30, M14, J16.

  Keywords: Female CEO, ESG performance.