Women in leadership positions and corporate sustainability: Evidence on listed companies from Colombia and Chile [As mulheres em posições de liderança e sustentabilidade empresarial: Evidência nas empresas listadas na Colômbia e no Chile] [Las mujeres en posiciones de liderazgo y la sustentabilidad empresarial: Evidencia en empresas cotizadas de Colombia y Chile]

Based on the stakeholders theory, this study aims to analyze the influence of the gender variable in executive boards and chief executive officer positions on sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices adopted by listed companies in Colombia and Chile. A sustainability index is proposed based on the Global Reporting Initiative that integrates the environmental, social and economic dimensions. The results, obtained through a panel data model composed of 491 observations during 2011-2016, show that women%27s participation has a positive impact on the economic dimension (profitability and liquidity), while the environmental and social dimensions are decreased when women are in a leading position. It is necessary to promote greater female participation in strategic positions in order to increase their representation in the Latin American context. © 2018 Universidad ICESI. Published by Universidad Icesi, Colombia. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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