Mitigating Cultural Constraints on Environmental Performance With Women on Boards During Crises

ABSTRACT Existing management literature has acknowledged the intricate interplay between board gender diversity (BGD), national culture, and environmental performance (EP). However, the COVID‐19 pandemic offers an unprecedented context to reexamine these relationships. This study contributes to the discourse by investigating how specific cultural traits may impede EP during crises and how BGD mitigates these adverse effects. Drawing on a sample of 261 international pharmaceutical companies and employing Heckman's two‐stage model, the findings demonstrate a positive influence of BGD on EP improvements during the pandemic. Moreover, cultural dimensions such as high individualism and short‐term orientation are associated with slower progress in EP during this period. Notably, firms with greater BGD effectively buffer these negative cultural impacts, mitigating their detrimental influence on EP. These findings illuminate the intersection between national culture, board composition, and environmental performance, offering practical insights for fostering resilient and sustainable corporate governance in global crises.