Introduction

According to numerous studies,¹ having a gender-diverse board is a key indicator of good corporate governance.²  The gender diversity of a board of an investee company is also one of the mandatory sustainability indicators³  that financial market participants are required to assess and report on under the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR).⁴  Using the S&P Global SFDR dataset,⁵  we examine this metric in the context of the S&P ESG Indices.

First, we observe how the proportion of women on boards varies across countries (see Exhibit 1).  On average, French firms have the most gender-balanced boards.  This is unsurprising, given that the French government enforces a minimum of 40% women on boards,⁶  a requirement that may follow across the EU.⁷  Meanwhile, all Qatari firms have an entirely male board.

In terms of sectors, firms operating in Energy, Consumer Staples, Information Technology and Health Care have a greater-than-average number of women on their boards, while Materials has the lowest average (see Exhibit 2).

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