ABSTRACT: With the adoption of the Non-Financial Disclosure Directive (NFDD), followed by the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), significant shifts are taking place in sustainability disclosure by large European companies. This study aims to investigate the qualitative and quantitative changes in gender disclosure by comparing the relevant regulations and the recent standards; additionally, through the analysis of two case studies that adopted sustainability disclosure changes before their enforcement, the objective was to anticipate potential outcomes and challenges. A mixed-methods approach is employed to assess the impact of these developments. This paper demonstrates improvements in gender- related disclosure concerning fair treatment and gender equality across several dimensions, including equal pay for work of equal value, training and skills development, and employment. However, no changes were observed in gender disclosure at the board level. The case studies emphasize enhancements in both the quality and quantity of gender-related information provided by the companies analyzed. This is the first study to comprehensively examine the ongoing changes in gender disclosure. The paper provides insights into how the attention of regulators, standard setters, and companies towards gender disclosure is evolving and identifies potential reasons for this shift. It also anticipates the impact of current regulatory changes on the information to be provided in European companies’ 2024 sustainability reports, highlighting expected benefits as well as potential implementation challenges.
KEYWORDS: Sustainability Reporting, Gender disclosure, CSRD, NFDD, ESRS.
