Does nomination committee diversity influence the relationship between audit committee diversity and ESG disclosure? Evidence from the UK

Purpose This study aims to examine the association between diversity among audit committee members and environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosure. The study also investigates the impact of diversity within the nomination committee as a moderating variable in this relationship. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a panel data regression approach with firm fixed effects. The sample contains 186 nonfinancial companies listed on the London Stock Exchange over the period 2003–2019, resulting in a total of 2,053 firm-year observations. Findings The study findings reveal a significant positive impact of audit committee diversity on the company’s ESG disclosure. Furthermore, the interaction term between audit committee diversity and nomination committee diversity suggests a moderating effect, indicating a possible change in the direction of this impact. The results of the sensitivity analysis conducted provide support for the core analysis. Originality/value A thorough review of the literature reveals no prior studies conducted within the UK context that investigate the moderating effect of nomination committee diversity on the relationship between audit committee diversity and ESG disclosure. This research gap positions the current study to contribute to the literature in this area, which has previously been underdeveloped, by analyzing the influence of nomination committee diversity on this association.