Women leaders and corporate social performance: do critical mass, CEO managerial ability and corporate governance matter?

Purpose This study aims to investigate the impact of top management team (TMT)'s gender diversity on corporate social performance (CSP). It sheds light on inconsistent results in literature by testing the moderator effects of chief executive officer (CEO) managerial ability and corporate governance (CG) on such impact. Design/methodology/approach A dynamic panel estimator is applied to an international sample of 8640 firm‐year observations from 2013 to 2017. Findings The author finds reliable evidence that the critical mass of at least three women leaders has a positive impact on the firm's CSP. Obtained results suggest, moreover, the deterrence effects of CEO managerial ability and CG tools (board independence, board gender diversity, the presence of a corporate social responsibility committee and family control)…