Non-verbal communication in financial reports: ethnic diversity, intersectionality, and the construction of meaning in facial images

This study investigates how companies visually represent ethnic diversity through facial imagery in financial reports and how such representations contribute to the construction of corporate identity and legitimacy through impression management. Drawing on social semiotics and impression management theory, the analysis examines whether these visual portrayals reflect substantive inclusion or function primarily as aesthetic forms of compliance with prevailing social expectations. Using a mixed-methods approach that combines qualitative and quantitative techniques, the dataset was compiled through web scraping of annual financial reports issued by firms regulated by the Chilean Financial Markets Commission (CMF) between 2004 and 2020. From 3,670 PDF reports, facial images were extracted and matched with firm-level data, yielding a final yearly sample of 2,085 reports from 234 unique firms. The results indicate that higher levels of displayed happiness and periods of stronger economic growth are associated with lower levels of ethnic diversity in visual disclosures. In addition, ethnic diversity shows limited intersection with stereotypical portrayals of women—typically depicted as young and smiling—pointing to the persistence of gendered and aestheticized visual patterns. Overall, the findings suggest that firms selectively mobilize visual diversity to signal inclusivity while simultaneously reproducing dominant norms embedded in corporate identity. This study contributes to research on visual corporate communication by providing large-scale evidence on intersectional diversity in financial reporting and highlighting the limitations of inclusion strategies based solely on visibility.