THE MODERATING ROLE OF BOARD GENDER DIVERSITY ON THE RELATIONSHIP OF ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL AND GOVERNANCE, CAPITAL INTENSITY TO TAX AVOIDANCE
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.23969/jrak.v18i1.35419Keywords:
environmental, social and governance, capital intensity, board gender diversity, tax avoidanceAbstract
This research explores corporate tax avoidance (TA) by assessing the roles of capital intensity (CI) and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance, while also considering board gender diversity (BGD) as a moderating factor within non-financial firms in ASEAN. The study is based on panel data from 185 companies observed over a five-year timeframe. The empirical evidence demonstrates that ESG engagement is significantly associated with variations in tax avoidance behavior, indicating that firms with stronger ESG commitments tend to adopt distinct tax strategies. Capital intensity is also identified as a key determinant, showing a stable and statistically significant relationship across all estimation models. To enhance analytical rigor, firm-level characteristics such as profitability (ROA), leverage (DER), and company size (FS) are included as control variables. Moreover, the findings reveal that board gender diversity strengthens the interaction between capital intensity and tax avoidance, highlighting the importance of governance structure in shaping corporate tax decisions. The study further observes a notable rise in tax avoidance activities among ASEAN firms during the COVID-19 period, both in immediate and extended horizons. These results underline the urgency for regulators to implement more robust ESG disclosure standards to improve transparency and ensure more effective tax supervision.
Downloads
References
Adela, V., Agyei, S. K., & Peprah, J. A. (2023). Antecedents of tax aggressiveness of listed non-financial firms: Evidence from an emerging economy. Scientific African, 20, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sciaf.2023.e01654
AlAdwey, L. M. A. (2022). Tax Avoidance Practises and Firm-specific Characteristics : Empirical Evidence from the Egyptian Listed Companies Laila Mohamed Alshawadfy AlAdwey * ـــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــ. Science Journal for Commercial Research, 1, 44–74.
Alareeni, B. A., & Hamdan, A. (2020). ESG Impact on Performance of US S&P 500-Listed Firms. Corporate Governance (Bingley), 20(7), 1409–1428. https://doi.org/10.1108/CG-06-2020-0258
Anggraini, P., & Wahyudi, I. (2022). Pengaruh Reputasi Perusahaan, Environmental, Social and Governance dan Kualitas Audit Terhadap Tax Avoidance. Fair Value: Jurnal Ilmiah Akuntansi Dan Keuangan, 5(2), 643–649. https://doi.org/10.32670/fairvalue.v5i2.2120
Anggun, P., Fajarwati, N., & Ramadhanti, W. (2021). Pengaruh Informasi Akuntansi ( Roa , Leverage , Sales Growth , Capital Intensity Dan Company Size ) Dan Company Age Terhadap Tax Avoidance. 7(1), 1–15.
Apriani, I. S., & Sunarto, S. (2022). Pengaruh Leverage , Capital Intensity dan Profitabilitas Terhadap Tax Avoidance. 15(2), 326–333.
Ariff, A. (2023). Financial distress and tax avoidance : the moderating effect of the COVID-19 pandemic. 8(3), 279–292. https://doi.org/10.1108/AJAR-10-2022-0347
Ariza, K. A. M. V. L. P. R. G. S. L. R. (2025). ESG Information Disclosure and Its Relationship to Tax Practices : Stakeholder- Friendly or Legitimacy- Seeking ? Sustainable Development, 3906–3917. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.3333
Baroroh, H. Y. H. N. (2025). The reciprocal effect of environmental , social , and governance ( ESG ) practices and tax aggressiveness in Indonesian and Malaysian companies. https://doi.org/10.21511/ppm.23(1).2025.25
Binhadab, N. (2025). ESG performance and cash effective tax rates: Evidence from UK listed firms. Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, 58, 100683. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intaccaudtax.2025.100683
Candraniawati, R. O. (2023). Prosiding : Ekonomi dan Bisnis Pengaruh Pertumbuhan Penjualan , Leverage , Ukuran Perusahaan , Return on Assets dan Capital Intensity terhadap Tax Avoidance Studi Empiris pada perusahaan Industri Sub Sektor Property dan Real Estate yang terdaftar di Bursa Efek Indonesia ( BEI ) Tahun 2018 – 2021. 3(2).
Darsani, P. A., & Sukartha, I. M. (2021). The effect of institutional ownership, profitability, leverage and capital intensity ratio on tax avoidance. American Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences Research (AJHSSR), 5(1), 13–22.
Diana, H. K. Z. (2023). The Impact of Environmental , Social and Governance , Sustainable Financial Performance , Ownership Structure , and Composition of Company Directors on Tax Avoidance : Evidence from Indonesia. International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, 13(6), 311–320. https://doi.org/10.32479/ijeep.14557.This
Duhoon, A., & Singh, M. (2023). Corporate tax avoidance: a systematic literature review and future research directions. LBS Journal of Management & Research, 21(2), 197–217. https://doi.org/10.1108/LBSJMR-12-2022-0082
Duong, T.-Q., & Huang, Y.-C. (2022). The mediation effects of tax avoidance between ESG and cost of debt, firm value: evidence from ASEAN listed corporations. Journal of Entrepreneurship, Business and Economics, 10(2S2), 201–232.
E-Vahdati, S., Wan-Hussin, W. N., & Mohd Ariffin, M. S. (2022). Sustainability performance and board compensation in Japan and ASEAN-5 countries. Borsa Istanbul Review, 22, S189–S199. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bir.2022.12.004
Ebimobowei, O. I. A. (2021). Corporate Governance and Tax Avoidance of Listed Consumer And Industrial Goods companies In Nigeria. 12(2), 17–31. https://doi.org/10.9790/5933-1202041731
Firmansyah. (2022). Pengaruh Leverage, Intensitas Aset Tetap, Transfer Pricing, Dan Komite Audit Terhadap Manajemen Pajak Dengan Indikator Tarif Pajak Efektif. Jurnal Literasi Akuntansi, 2(3), 167–174. https://doi.org/10.55587/jla.v2i3.64
Firmansyah, M. Y., & Bahri, S. (2022). Pengaruh Leverage, Capital Intensity, Sales Growth, dan Ukuran Perusahaan Terhadap Tax Avoidance. Jurnal Penelitian Dan Pengembangan Sains Dan Humaniora, 6(3). https://doi.org/10.23887/jppsh.v6i3.53401
Freeman, R. E. (1984). Strategic Management: A Stakeholder Approach. Cambridge University Press.
Fuadah, L. L., Mukhtaruddin, M., Andriana, I., & Arisman, A. (2022). The Ownership Structure, and the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Disclosure, Firm Value and Firm Performance: The Audit Committee as Moderating Variable. Economies, 10(12), 314. https://doi.org/10.3390/economies10120314
Garcia-blandon, J., & Ravenda, D. (2024). CEO demographics and gender diversity in senior management in large Scandinavian fi rms. 39(1), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1108/GM-12-2021-0379
Guha, P., Kar, S., & Jha, K. N. (2025). Exploring Leadership Styles and Their Effect on the Safety and Quality Performances in Construction Projects. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 151(9). https://doi.org/10.1061/JCEMD4.COENG-15697
Hajar, P., & Hapsari, B. (2025). The Effect of Capital Intensity , Firm Size and Leverage on Tax Avoidance. 2020.
Hapsari, T. A., Departement, A., & Java, W. (2023). Ceo Power , Gender Diversity And Esg Performance : Evidence From Financial Companies In Asean-5.
Hendayana, Y., Arief Ramdhany, M., Pranowo, A. S., Abdul Halim Rachmat, R., & Herdiana, E. (2024). Exploring impact of profitability, leverage and capital intensity on avoidance of tax, moderated by size of firm in LQ45 companies. Cogent Business & Management, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2024.2371062
Hicks, J. A., Needy, L., Jiang, T., Vess, M., Sedikides, C., & Schlegel, R. J. (2025). Self-Integrity and experiential fluency as unique cues to subjective authenticity. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.aesp.2025.10.005
Hikmahtul Nurlaely; R Rosiyana Dewi. (2023). Pengaruh Pengungkapan Corporate Governance, Environmental Social Governance, Environmental Uncertainty Dan Corporate Reputation Terhadap Tax Avoidance. 08(01), 1–15.
Hing, L. S. S., Sakr, N., Sorenson, J. B., Stamarski, C. S., Caniera, K., & Colaco, C. (2023). Human Resource Management Review Gender inequities in the workplace : A holistic review of organizational processes and practices. Human Resource Management Review, 33(3), 100968. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrmr.2023.100968
Hoang, L., Nguyen, T., Nguyen, T. T., Vu, T., Le, N., & Mai, N. D. (2023). Applying Benford ’ s law to examine earnings management : evidence from emerging ASEAN-5 countries. https://doi.org/10.1108/JFRA-10-2022-0390
Indudewi, S. I. D. (2024). Do Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG), Leverage, and Financial Performance Affect Tax Avoidance? 10(2), 209–222. https://doi.org/10.31289/jkbm.v10i2.11732
Isabel, A., Fernández, C., Martinez-jimenez, R., & Jes, M. (2026). Gender diversity in fl uence on board effectiveness and business performance. 20(2), 307–323. https://doi.org/10.1108/CG-07-2019-0206
Jensen, M., & Meckling, W. (1976). Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs, and ownership structure. The Economic Nature of the Firm: A Reader, Third Edition, 283–303. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511817410.023
Jiang, H., Hu, W., & Jiang, P. (2024). Does ESG performance affect corporate tax avoidance? Evidence from China. Finance Research Letters, 61, 105056. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.frl.2024.105056
Jing, Z., Hou, Q., Zhang, Y., & Zhao, Y. (2022). The Relationship between Female Leadership Traits and Employee Innovation Performance — The Mediating Role of Knowledge Sharing.
Kabir, A., Ikra, S. S., Saona, P., & Azad, M. A. K. (2023). Board gender diversity and firm performance: new evidence from cultural diversity in the boardroom. LBS Journal of Management & Research, 21(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1108/LBSJMR-06-2022-0022
Karyani, E. (2022). Esg And Intellectual Capital Efficiency : Evidence From Asean Emerging Markets. 19(2). https://doi.org/10.21002/jaki.2022.08
Khlifi, S., Chouaibi, Y., & Chouaibi, S. (2025). Do ESG practices mediate the relationship between board characteristics and tax avoidance in G20 countries? Corporate Governance: The International Journal of Business in Society, 25(2), 288–310. https://doi.org/10.1108/CG-11-2023-0498
Kurniawati, N. S. D. E. M. (2024). Political Connection And Tax Avoidance : Evidence From Two-Tier Board System In Indonesia. 16(2), 327–336.
Larson, S. J., & Guy, M. E. (2024). The contribution of feminist theory to policy implementation analysis. In Handbook of Public Policy Implementation (pp. 91–101). https://doi.org/10.4337/9781800885905.00014
Lee, H. (2024). Exploring the Relationship Between Environmental , Social , and Governance and Tax Avoidance Strategies. December, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440241298089
López-, M. V. (2025). ESG Information Disclosure and Its Relationship to Tax Practices : Stakeholder- Friendly or Legitimacy- Seeking ? Sustainable Development, 33, 3906–3917. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.3333
Lukman, C. F. (2024). Bridging ESG Disclosures and Corporate Financial Performance : A Study on Top-Listed Companies of the ASEAN-5 Countries. 20(2).
Martens, W., Ngoc, C., & Bui, M. (2023). An Exploration of Legitimacy Theory in Accounting Literature. 10, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.4236/oalib.1109713
Masyithah Kenza Yutaro Zoebar; Desrir Miftah. (2020). Pengaruh Corporate Social Responsibility , Capital Intensity Dan Kualitas Audit Terhadap Penghindaran. Jurnal Magister Akuntansi Trisakti, 7(1), 25–40.
Mu, H., Xu, J., & Chen, S. (2024). The impact of corporate social responsibility types on happiness management : a stakeholder theory perspective. 62(2), 591–613. https://doi.org/10.1108/MD-02-2023-0267
Muhmad, S. N., Hassan, M., Haat, C., Taha, R., Rashid, N., Sciences, M., Sultan, U., Abidin, Z., Nerus, K., & Muhmad, S. N. (2020). The Influence of the Financial Indicators Towards the Changes of the Corporate Tax Avoidance. 12(1), 167–171. https://doi.org/10.5373/JARDCS/V12I1/20201026
Mukhtaruddin, Novriansa, A., & Siahaan, H. M. A. (2025). Environmental, social and governance, and tax avoidance: Study in ASEAN countries. Asian Economic and Financial Review, 15(6), 996–1010. https://doi.org/10.55493/5002.v15i6.5458
Mukhtaruddin, Susanto, H., Andara, R. N., & Abukosim. (2024). Tax Evoidance Practices in Emerging Capital Market: The Effect of Environment, Social and Governance, Audit Quality and Company Risk. Revista de Gestão Social e Ambiental, 18(7), e05730. https://doi.org/10.24857/rgsa.v18n7-053
Novriyanti, I., Wahana, W., & Dalam, W. (2020). Faktor-Faktor yang Mempengaruhi Penghindaran Pajak. 5(1), 24–35.
Nurlaely, H., & Dewi, R. (2024). Pengaruh Pengungkapan Corporate Governance, Environmental Social Governance, Environmental Uncertainty dan Corporate Reputation terhadap Tax Avoidance. Jurnal Ilmiah EDUNOMIKA, 8(1).
Pratiwi, A., & Yunita, I. (2025). The Role of Firm Size in Moderating The Influence of Financial Ratios and Good Corporate Governance on
Financial Distress in Manufacturing Companies for The Period 2019-2023. 4(5), 472–487.
Putri, S. ., Hariyanto, E., Kusbandiyah, A., & Pandansari, T. (2022). The Effect Of Capital Intensity, Leverage, And Institutional Ownership On Tax Avoidance With Profitability As A Moderation Variable. SAR (Soedirman Accounting Review): Journal of Accounting and Business. https://doi.org/10.32424/1.sar.2022.7.2.7339
Putri, S. N., Hariyanto, E., Kusbandiyah, A., Pandansari, T., & Purwokerto, U. M. (2022). The Effect Of Capital Intensity , Leverage , And Institutional Ownership On Tax Avoidance With Profitability As A Moderation. 07(02), 86–97.
Rahma, A. A., Pratiwi, N., & Mary, H. (2022). Pengaruh Capital Intensity , Karakteristik Perusahaan , Dan CSR Disclosure Terhadap Penghindaran Pajak pada Perusahaan Manufaktur. 6(2016), 677–689.
Ramadhan, L., & Wadi, I. (2024). The effect of ESG, inventory intensity and managerial ownership on tax avoidance. Educoretax, 4(8), 955–968. https://doi.org/10.54957/educoretax.v4i8.1026
Ruan, L., & Liu, H. (2021). Environmental , Social , Governance Activities and Firm Performance : Evidence from China. Sustainability (Switzerland), 13(767), 1–16.
Sahu, M., Alahdal, W. M., Kumar, D., Rabea, S., & Saleh, M. (2025). Board gender diversity and firm performance : Unveiling the ESG effect. Sustainable Futures, 9(February), 100493. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sftr.2025.100493
Sambuaga, E. A., & Felicia, D. (2024). The Effect of Women ’ s Role on Board , ESG Performance , and Tax Avoidance. 12(1), 61–73. https://doi.org/10.33019/society.v12i1.651
Samy El-Deeb, M., Ismail, T. H., & El Banna, A. A. (2023). Does audit quality moderate the impact of environmental, social and governance disclosure on firm value? Further evidence from Egypt. Journal of Humanities and Applied Social Sciences, 5(4), 293–322. https://doi.org/10.1108/JHASS-11-2022-0155
Simionescu, L. N., Gherghina, Ş. C., Tawil, H., & Sheikha, Z. (2021). Does board gender diversity affect firm performance ? Empirical evidence from Standard & Poor ’ s 500 Information Technology Sector. Financial Innovation. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40854-021-00265-x
Sobhy, N., & Megeid, A. (2023). The Quadruple Impact of Integrated ESG and CSR Sustainability Voluntary Disclosure on Financial Reporting Quality , Firm Value , Stock Value , and Tax Avoidance : Evidence from Egypt. 44–128.
Stawati, V. (2020). Profitabilitas , Leverage Dan Ukuran Perusahaan Terhadap Penghindaran Pajak. 6(2), 147–157. https://doi.org/10.31289/jab.v6i2.3472
Stephens, S., Azizzadeh, S., & Au, W. C. (2025). Legitimacy in the Literature: Distinguishing Between Perceived and Actual Value Congruence in Carbon Reduction Initiatives. Business Strategy and the Environment, 34(6), 7070–7084. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.4321
Suardikha, C. H. S. I. M. S. (2019). Pengaruh Leverage dan Capital Intensity pada Tax Avoidance dengan Proporsi Komisaris Independen sebagai Variabel Pemoderasi Fakultas Ekonomi dan Bisnis Universitas Udayana ( Unud ), Bali , Indonesia PENDAHULUAN Penerimaan pajak di Indonesia telah dirancan. E-Jurnal Akuntansi Universitas Udayana, 27, 1–32.
Suciarti, C., & Suryani, E. (2020). The Effect of Leverage , Capital Intensity and Deferred Tax Expense on Tax Avoidance The Effect of Leverage , Capital Intensity and Deferred Tax Expense on Tax Avoidance. 3(2).
Suciarti, C., Suryani, E., & Kurnia, K. (2020). The Effect of Leverage, Capital Intensity and Deferred Tax Expense on Tax Avoidance. Journal of Accounting Auditing and Business, 3(2), 76–83. https://doi.org/10.24198/jaab.v3i2.28624
Sumantri, E., Samudra, A. A., & Suradika, A. (2024). Global tax avoidance and evasion: A landscape through insights from a systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis. Journal of Infrastructure, Policy and Development, 8(9). https://doi.org/10.24294/jipd.v8i9.8073
Sumunar, K., & Djakman, C. (2020). Ceo Overconfidence, Esg Disclosure, And Firm RISK. Jurnal Akuntansi Dan Keuangan Indonesia, 17(1). https://doi.org/10.21002/jaki.2020.01
Tanujaya, K., Cantikasari, A., & Batam, U. I. (2022). DAMPAK PENGENDALIAN INTERNAL TERHADAP. 0832(September), 155–178.
Teja, A. (2024). Environmental, Social and Governance Disclosure Scores and Tax Avoidance. Jurnal Ilmiah Akuntansi, 9(1), 186–209. https://doi.org/10.23887/jia.v9i1.69573
Ulfa, E. K., Suprapti, E., & Latifah, S. W. (2021). J r a k. 11(1), 77–86. https://doi.org/10.22219/jrak.v11i1.16140
van den Oever, K., & Beerens, B. (2021). Does task-related conflict mediate the board gender diversity–organizational performance relationship? European Management Journal, 39(4), 445–455. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emj.2020.09.008
Wahdan Arum Inawati, & Rahmawati, R. (2023). Dampak Environmental, Social, Dan Governance (ESG) Terhadap Kinerja Keuangan. Jurnal Akademi Akuntansi, 6(2), 225–241. https://doi.org/10.22219/jaa.v6i2.26674
Wang, J., Fan, W., & Wang, Z. (2024). Tax incentives and earnings management: A study based on accelerated depreciation policy in China. Economic Analysis and Policy, 81, 281–296. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eap.2023.11.036
Wang, K., Ma, J., Xue, C., & Zhang, J. (2024). Board Gender Diversity and Firm Performance : Recent Evidence from Japan.
Xu, J. (2024). The gender gap in executive promotions ✩. Journal of Corporate Finance, 89, 102680. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2024.102680
Yahya, A., Asiah, N., & Nurjanah, R. (2023). Tax Avoidance in Relationship on Capital Intensity, Growth Opportunities, Financial Distress and Accounting Conservatism. Journal of Business Management and Economic Development, 1(02), 154–165. https://doi.org/10.59653/jbmed.v1i02.56
Yami, N., Alshurafat, H., Shaaban, M., & Shaaban, I. (2025). The female directors ’ effect on a firm ’ s performance : Evidence using US firms. Acta Psychologica, 258(March), 105165. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105165
Yoon, B., Lee, J.-H., & Cho, J.-H. (2021). The Effect of ESG Performance on Tax Avoidance—Evidence from Korea. Sustainability, 13(12), 6729. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13126729
Yudhanto, W., & Simamora, A. J. (2023). Environmental , Social , and Governance Risk on Firm Performance : The Mediating Role of Firm Risk. 14(July), 223–234. https://doi.org/10.21512/bbr.v14i2.8935
Yunira, H., Lubis, C. W., & Lubis, N. I. (2025). Enrichment : Journal of Management The effect of inventory intensity , capital intensity , and leverage on tax avoidance. 15(3).
Zhang, C., Zhang, S., Lu, P., & Yan, J. (2021). ESG Ratings and Corporate Tax Avoidance: An Analysis Based on Chinese A-Share Listed Companies. Scientific Journal of Economics and Management Research, 3(12), 16–27.
Zuraida, R. C. Z. (2021). Effects of Environmental , Social , and Governance Disclosures on Organizational Visibility : Empirical Study of Non-Financial Companies Listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange. Indonesia Journal of Sustainability Accounting and Management, 5(2), 354–356. https://doi.org/10.28992/ijsam.v5i2.476
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Mukhtaruddin, Luk Luk Fuadah, Imam Asngari, Agil Novriansa, Umi Kalsum, Hani Maria Angel Siahaan
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
