Do Female Board Directors Promote Corporate Social Responsibility? An Empirical Study Based on the Critical Mass Theory

ABSTRACT

Based on the critical mass theory, we study the relationship between the number and background characteristics of female directors and corporate social responsibility (CSR). We use the data of Chinese listed companies from 2011 to 2016. Empirical evidence shows that the number of female directors, the number of female independent directors, female directors’ educational background and monetary compensation upon the fulfillment of corporate social responsibility was not statistically significant. The age and the part-time ratio of female directors were positively correlated with the fulfillment of social responsibilities. The group test based on the “critical number“ in the critical mass theory did not show the changing effect of reaching the “critical number” in the critical mass theory, and the same conclusion was obtained by further testing in terms of the proportion of female directors. This article provides a new perspective for further exploring the board gender diversity and the role of female directors on decision-making, which may be better for companies to fulfill their social responsibilities.

KEY WORDS:

• corporate social responsibility
• critical mass
• female directors
• tokens