Gender Balance in Corporate Boards and Promotion of ESG Topics: Illusion or Correlation?

In February 2026, Viviane de Beaufort published, together with Hichâm Ben Chaïb, a qualitative and quantitative[1] study examining whether the ‘feminisation’ (i.e. growing role of female directors) of corporate boards within CAC 40 companies translates into substantive ESG integration in strategic governance or merely creates the appearance of responsible transformation. The research investigates whether the observed correlation between gender balance and ESG promotion reflects a broader shift toward inclusive and extra-financial corporate strategy.

The study relies on two complementary working papers structured around a three-step research design combining regulatory analysis, board composition data, committee mapping, and qualitative governance assessment. The first stage provides an overview of the European legal framework that enabled the feminisation of non-executive positions, alongside quantitative developments. The second stage offers a qualitative analysis of the effective influence women have achieved within CAC 40 boards. This combined approach allows the authors to identify the conditions under which women directors are genuinely able to contribute meaningfully to board dynamics, including the ability to promote responsible, long-term performance grounded in ESG monitoring.

European Harmonisation: Lessons from the French Pioneer Model

The increasing number of women on boards has primarily resulted from voluntarist hard law. The 2012 initiative led by Viviane Reding, based on voluntary commitments, failed to dismantle entrenched “old boys’ networks.” By contrast, the European Women on Boards Directive, effective December 2024, represents a major milestone by mandating that the underrepresented sex occupy 40% of non-executive board seats (or 33% of all board positions) by June 2026. France’s pioneering framework, notably the Copé-Zimmermann Act (2011) and the Rixain Act (2021), demonstrates tangible numerical progress and served as a model for European harmonisation.

Breaking the Glass Ceiling, Facing the ‘Glass Filter’

However, the qualitative analysis developed in working paper 2505 (Féminisation des conseils d’administration et de direction dans les groupes du CAC 40 – État des lieux analytique, April 11, 2025) shows that the profiles of women reaching top corporate positions largely mirror those of their male counterparts. As a result, increased female representation does not automatically translate into broader diversity of backgrounds or perspectives.

Although women now hold approximately 47% of CAC 40 board seats, they represent only 6% of CEOs or Chairpersons. Furthermore, the expansion of board size (an average increase of 1.8 to 2.7 members) suggests possible adaptive strategies allowing firms to comply with quotas without replacing incumbent male directors. The authors identify the emergence of a “glass filter,” whereby access to leadership remains structured by elite educational and professional pathways. A related risk is the formation of a “Pink Ghetto,” as women are disproportionately concentrated in support or functional roles – HR, communication, or ESG – while profit-and-loss (P&L) positions, traditionally serving as pathways to executive leadership, remain overwhelmingly male-dominated (around 80%).

Beyond the ‘Pink Ghetto’: Integrating Women into Strategic P&L Roles

The final stage of the research draws on working paper 2510 (Feminisation des boards et performance ESG : corrélation ou illusion?, December 19, 2025), which examines the relationship between board feminisation and non-financial performance. The analysis[2] reveals that women chair 82.4% of CSR/ESG committees within CAC 40 companies, reinforcing the risk of thematic confinement.

Counterintuitively, however, the study finds that positive ESG outcomes are most pronounced when women occupy strategic positions unrelated to ESG itself — including finance, strategy, HR, or procurement. This result suggests that their impact stems less from a presumed affinity for sustainability topics than from the diversification of perspectives and decision-making dynamics within core governance processes.

The authors therefore argue that feminisation can act as a lever for sustainable performance, provided that recognised conditions, deliberative dynamics, and board leadership enable genuine participation in strategic decision-making. The study advances a central proposition: the non-financial performance of CAC 40 companies is positively correlated with increasing female representation in leadership bodies when women hold responsibilities embedded in core operational and P&L governance.

The authors conclude that the European corporate model stands at a crossroads. Legislative pressure has successfully broken the glass ceiling in numerical terms, yet a persistent glass filter continues to shape access to influence and limit genuine diversity, boosting the need for more conviction-driven inclusivity.

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1. This includes an analysis of their educational and professional backgrounds, the nature of their roles, any accumulation of directorships, and their positions within boards and executive committees based on the listed companies’ reporting (as required in the 12th article of the “ordonnance n° 2024-934 of 15 october 2024” transposing the UE directive  2022/2381) and the analysis of résumés and LinkedIn accounts.

2. The authors combined a comprehensive literature review, a behavioral analysis of board dynamics, and an original empirical study of CAC 40 companies based on data found in Universal Registration Documents (URDs) published for Annual General Meetings (AGMs), as well as evaluations conducted by the FIR regarding ESG performance.

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Viviane de Beaufort  is a full professor of European law at ESSEC.

Hichâm Ben Chaïb is an alumnus of ESSEC Business School.

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