Author(s)

Changzheng Zhang, Xiyuan Liu

Corresponding Author

Changzheng Zhang

Abstract

Based on the critical quality theory, this paper discusses the impact of female directors on executive pay reduction punishment due to environmental pollution. Taking 25079 data of A-share non-financial listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges in China from 2010 to 2020 as samples, based on the OLS multiple regression model, the empirical findings show that executives in pollution-intensive enterprises would be punished by a certain amount of pay reduction due to polluting the ecological environment, and female directors who reach a mass level would weaken such a punishment in executive pay by reducing polluting behavior and enhancing environment protection expenditures. The reliability of the conclusion is verified by robustness test and independent sample t-test. The conclusion of this paper highlights the enrichment of green finance literature, expands the research horizon of female directors, also provides a certain reference significance for enterprises to protect the environment and undertake social responsibility.

Keywords

Female directors, Executive pay reduction, Ecologically polluting behavior, Pollution-intensive enterprises