Corporate Leadership and Disability Employment Disclosure: The Role of Board Structure in Promoting Inclusion

ABSTRACT This study examines how board structure influences disability employment disclosure (DED) among 192 nonfinancial FTSE 350 companies from 2015 to 2022. It investigates six board attributes—gender diversity, independence, size, CEO duality, tenure, and expertise—to determine how governance design affects transparency on disability inclusion. The results show that firms with more diverse, independent, and skilled boards are significantly more likely to disclose quantifiable information about disability employment, reflecting stronger ethical and social accountability. In contrast, companies led by CEOs who also serve as board chairs disclose less, suggesting that concentrated leadership weakens independent oversight and transparency. These findings align with stakeholder and legitimacy theories, showing that inclusive and well‐balanced boards pursue substantive legitimacy through genuine commitments to diversity, while less independent boards tend toward symbolic disclosure. This study is among the first to explicitly link board governance to disability employment disclosure, highlighting the role of board composition as a key driver of transparency, accountability, and inclusive corporate governance. The results provide valuable implications for policymakers and business leaders seeking to promote ethical reporting and workplace inclusion.