Study reveals the importance of women in top management

A recent report by Credit Suisse Research Institute titled ‘The CS Gender 3000: Women in Senior Management’, confirmed that companies with higher female participation in top management exhibit higher returns for the company.

The report also revealed a serious of interesting facts about women in Senior Management which includes: the percentage of female participation in top-management was 12.9% at the end of 2003 and only 4% of CEOs in the CSG (The Credit Suisse Gender) 3,000 were found to be female. The report also revealed that companies with at least one woman on the board outperformed others on a sector neutral basis by 5%.

Interestingly, the report also stated that the Board diversity had increased in almost every country and every sector, and progressed from 9.6 % in 2010 to nearly 12.7 % by the end of 2013.

Stefano Natella, Global Head of Equity Research told Saudi Gazette, “It’s been two years since we published the Gender Diversity and Corporate Performance report and there has been a lot of evidence to corroborate our original findings of the striking correlation between diversity at the board level and improved corporate financial performance.”

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He added, “We wanted to take this opportunity to revisit our arguments to see if they hold true in a post-crisis world and to consider what happens below the boardroom to assess whether diverse boards reflect diverse top management positions.”

Contrary to popular belief, it was found that the percentage of women in senior management is almost similar to that in the boardroom. Women, who however are a part of management teams, are less influential and are offered limited opportunities to move into the most senior roles.

The findings of the report advocate the need for policy initiatives that could help in the advancement and progress for women in senior management roles.

ORIGINAL SOURCE: Saudi Gazette

http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20140929219701