Beyond Representation: When Do Women Directors Help Prevent Corporate Social Irresponsibility?

ABSTRACT We investigate whether women's board representation mitigates corporate social irresponsibility (CSIR), defined as exposure to ESG controversies. Using a panel of 205 French listed firms from 2006 to 2024 and dynamic panel estimation, we find that board gender diversity is associated with lower CSIR across alternative measures of female representation. However, this effect is not uniform. Female directors reduce CSIR mainly when firms are financially strong and have slack resources, suggesting that stakeholder‐oriented monitoring must be supported by the capacity to invest in preventive systems. Conversely, dominant ownership and CEO power weaken this relationship, indicating that board autonomy and deliberative space condition the effectiveness of female directors. Mechanism‐consistent evidence shows that women's board representation is associated with stronger sustainability‐oriented governance and higher environmental‐social performance, especially social performance. Overall, board gender diversity reduces CSIR when representation, resources, and governance conditions allow female directors to exercise influence.