Female executives and multinationals’ support of the UN's sustainable development goals

Abstract

We examine the effect of female representation in multinationals’ top management teams (TMTs) on firms’ support of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Despite the central importance of multinationals in achieving the SDGs, there has been little research on what drives their adoption by multinationals. We draw on social role theory and the literature on team decision-making to argue that female representation in TMTs increases multinationals’ support of the SDGs. We also find that the effect of female representation in TMTs on multinationals’ support of the SDGs varies with the level of international diversification.