Dive Brief:
- Having more female leaders in business can significantly increase profitability, according to new research from EY and the Peterson Institute for International Economics.
- The report, Is Gender Diversity Profitable? Evidence from a Global Study, found that an organization with 30% female leaders could add up to six percentage points to its net margin.
- Unfortunately, the same research uncovered that nearly one-third of companies globally have no women in either board or C-suite positions, 60% have no female board members, 50% have no female top executives, and less than 5% have a female CEO.
Dive Insight:
Stephen R. Howe, Jr., EY’s US chairman and Americas managing partner, said the impact of having more women in senior leadership on net margin, when a third of companies studied do not, begs the question of what would be the global economic impact if more women rose in the ranks.
The research demonstrates that while increasing the number of women directors and CEOs is important, growing the percentage of female leaders in the C-suite would likely benefit the bottom line even more, he added.
Karyn Twaronite, EY global diversity and inclusiveness officer, said the research sheds light on the importance of establishing modern workplace benefits, providing equitable sponsorship opportunities, and creating inclusive work environments so that both men and women can have equal access to leadership positions.
