Female CEOs and ESG Visual Expressions

SYNOPSIS Prior studies have shown that women possess unique personality traits that cause them to communicate differently than men do. Hence, we investigate whether the presence of female CEOs affects the use of visual expressions in a firm’s environmental, social, and governance (ESG) report (“ESG visual expressions”). Using detailed disclosure data from ESG reports in China, we find that firms with female CEOs use more ESG visual expressions. This result is stronger when the firm prioritizes ESG performance, when the female CEO is more powerful, and when there are more women on the top management team. ESG visual expressions are also positively associated with the firm’s long-term abnormal returns, market value, and ESG rating. We contribute to the literature on the determinants of firms’ ESG disclosure and how female managerial participation influences a firm’s ESG decisions. Data Availability: Data are available from the public sources cited in the text. JEL Classifications: G14; G34; J16; M14; M51.