Dive Brief:
- When IBM announced their new CEO, Ginni Rometty, back in 2012, they did so with little drama — even though she was the first woman CEO in the company's century-long history. Turns out, according to Quartz, this may have been somewhat purposeful.
- While women leaders tend to bring "significant benefits," according to Quartz, the study found that media reaction to CEO appointments ties directly into how the markets respond. Women CEOs who were appointed with a lot of press saw "negative market reaction," while newly appointed women CEOs who went largely unannounced saw "positive market reaction."
- Essentially, the market creates an atmosphere in which investors try to guess what other investors believe — and many assume other investors will be biased against women CEOs.
Dive Insight:
This market conundrum reveals the catch-22 employers may find themselves in when trying to promote their female leadership. While it is true that creating a pipeline of women leaders requires a company culture that is open and proud of their program, it seems that the stock markets still have a negative reaction to "shaking the boat," as it were.
Women continue to be overlooked for leadership positions, even at the beginning of their careers, partly due to that same unconscious bias that investors believe their fellows will display.
