Gender Diversity, Corporate Governance Disclosure and Financial Performance: Empirical Evidence from South Africa

The aim of the research is to examine the extent and the quality of gender diversity disclosure and its impact on the firm’s financial performance. In the international arena some organizations have enacted several frameworks and guidelines in order to provide an operational guidance for the disclosure of non-financial information, in particular on social and governance issues, such as the gender diversity. Giving the growing interest on these issues, the main research objectives are: 1) an overview on the gender diversity disclosure both in terms of mandatory and voluntary reporting; 2) a comparison of the gender diversity information disclosed in Annual Reports (2009) and in Integrated Reports (2013) of a sample of South African listed companies