Purpose <p>The purpose of this study is to map the intellectual structure and thematic evolution of gender diversity in corporate governance research using publication trends, key authors and sources, collaboration networks, and thematic evolution.</p> Design/methodology/approach <p>This study employs bibliometric analysis on 3,852 publications listed in the Scopus database. Bibliometrix R and Biblioshiny are used to analyze the performance of these publications and to apply science mapping techniques such as co-citation, bibliographic coupling, keyword co-occurrence, and thematic evolution to visualize these networks across authors, sources, countries, and themes.</p> Findings <p>This study illustrates a significant increase in research on gender diversity in corporate governance, particularly after 2015 following corporate governance reforms and ESG focus. Four clusters are identified: board composition and governance, ESG and sustainability reporting, firm performance and risk, and workplace inclusion and diversity culture. Co-citation and coupling identify strong foundations in agency theory, resource dependence theory, and stakeholder theory.</p> Research limitations/implications <p>This study is limited to the Scopus database and English-language literature only. However, this study provides a systematic overview and indicates future research directions.</p> Originality/value <p>This study provides a comprehensive bibliometric synthesis on gender diversity in corporate governance research to advance understanding on gender diversity in corporate governance research.</p>