More Women Leaders Mean 15% More Profit
It has been an unusually active week of interesting news and data about men, women and money matters.
First, an international study by the Peterson Institute found that companies were more profitable when their "top management" included more women. This correlation with financial performance doesn't prove causation, but the strength of the relationship is pretty remarkable. Specifically, the New York Times reported that "an increase in the share of women from zero to 30 percent would be associated with a 15 percent rise in profitability."
Also, the study did not find any statistically significant relationships between company financial performance based solely on the CEO's gender or even the number of female directors. In other words, if gender diversity does generate better performance, that diversity has to exist beyond the Chief Executive's office and the board.
The survey included approximately 22,000 public employers in 91 countries and defined "top management" according to information in a Thomson Reuters database of companies and executives. In other words, there was a wide range of titles for what constituted "top management".
Women leaders may be important for generating better profits, but what about the way they are paid? A study this week released by Glassdoor found that a majority of people believe that men and women are paid equally for equal work. But men and women don't feel the same way about this: only 60% of women think there isn't a gender pay gap, compared to 78% of men.
Men and women also felt differently about whether a company's unequal pay practices would influence them to apply for a job there. 37% of men compared to 15% of women said they'd still be interested in applying for work at an employer if they knew a pay gap existed.
At Fairygodboss, we're continuing to see people contribute their salaries anonymously by gender and employer. We'll publish a breakdown by gender soon — and reveal whether our data suggests there's a gender pay gap at certain employers. Submit an anonymous salary tip today!
First, an international study by the Peterson Institute found that companies were more profitable when their "top management" included more women. This correlation with financial performance doesn't prove causation, but the strength of the relationship is pretty remarkable. Specifically, the New York Times reported that "an increase in the share of women from zero to 30 percent would be associated with a 15 percent rise in profitability."
Also, the study did not find any statistically significant relationships between company financial performance based solely on the CEO's gender or even the number of female directors. In other words, if gender diversity does generate better performance, that diversity has to exist beyond the Chief Executive's office and the board.
The survey included approximately 22,000 public employers in 91 countries and defined "top management" according to information in a Thomson Reuters database of companies and executives. In other words, there was a wide range of titles for what constituted "top management".
Women leaders may be important for generating better profits, but what about the way they are paid? A study this week released by Glassdoor found that a majority of people believe that men and women are paid equally for equal work. But men and women don't feel the same way about this: only 60% of women think there isn't a gender pay gap, compared to 78% of men.
Men and women also felt differently about whether a company's unequal pay practices would influence them to apply for a job there. 37% of men compared to 15% of women said they'd still be interested in applying for work at an employer if they knew a pay gap existed.
At Fairygodboss, we're continuing to see people contribute their salaries anonymously by gender and employer. We'll publish a breakdown by gender soon — and reveal whether our data suggests there's a gender pay gap at certain employers. Submit an anonymous salary tip today!
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