Board Gender Diversity and Environmental Performance: Mediating Effects of Green Innovation and Moderating Role of <scp>CSR</scp> Engagement in Latin America and the Caribbean

ABSTRACT This study investigates the relationship between board gender diversity (BGD) and environmental performance (EP) among manufacturing firms in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), with particular focus on the mediating role of green innovation (GI) and the moderating influence of CSR engagement (CSR). Drawing on a balanced panel dataset of 439 manufacturing firms observed from 2010 to 2023, and employing the Dynamic Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) estimator to address endogeneity concerns inherent in corporate governance research, this study contributes to the growing nexus of gender, governance, and sustainability literatures. Three overarching theoretical lenses—Dynamic Capability View (DCV), Stakeholder Theory, and Resource Dependence Theory (RDT)—anchor the conceptual framework. Empirical findings reveal that board gender diversity exerts a significant and positive direct effect on environmental performance. Moreover, green innovation fully mediates this relationship, suggesting that gender‐diverse boards catalyze eco‐innovation investments that subsequently translate into superior environmental outcomes. Additionally, CSR engagement positively moderates the BGD–EP relationship, amplifying the environmental benefits of gender‐diverse governance structures. These results are robust to alternative specifications, endogeneity corrections, and additional robustness tests. Findings carry meaningful implications for policymakers, regulators, and corporate boards seeking to leverage gender‐inclusive governance as a lever for sustainable development in emerging market economies. The study contributes novel evidence on the conditional and indirect pathways through which board composition shapes environmental outcomes in a regional context that remains underexplored in the global corporate governance literature.