This paper aims to provide evidence on the influence of female top executives on waste reduction and recycling initiatives. Using a sample of 14,613 firm-year observations from 55 countries covering the period 2002 to 2021, the results show that female leadership is related to lower (higher) levels of waste generation (recycling). This result suggests that female executives are likely to implement greener strategies that prioritize corporate sustainability, supporting stakeholder and upper echelon theories. The positive effect of female executives on reducing waste generation is more pronounced in countries with strong gender equality culture. Further evidence shows that the effect of female executives on waste reduction is more prevalent following the implementation of sustainable development goals in 2015 suggesting the potential impact of gender diversity in executive roles on advancing corporate environmental responsibility in alignment with global sustainability goals. We also show that this effect is more likely across countries with poor investor protection regulations.