More Women Leaders, Not Just Big Budgets, Leads to Greater Corporate Social Responsibility

What’s good for women is also good for business and for society as a whole. In fact, companies with more women at the top tend to be better practitioners of corporate social responsibility (CSR). Past Catalyst research has shown that such companies also financially outperform, on average, those with fewer women in senior leadership roles.

“Companies are realizing that advancing more women to senior leadership roles has many advantages— increasing financial performance as well as the company’s sustainability,” said Anabel Pérez, Senior Vice President, Development, Catalyst. “As this study shows, inclusive leadership and the positive influence it has on the quantity and quality of an organizations’ CSR initiatives is critical. When business leadership includes women, society wins.”

According to Gender and Corporate Social Responsibility: It’s a Matter of Sustainability, a joint study between Catalyst and Harvard Business School, companies with more women board directors and corporate officers contributed significantly more charitable funds, on average, than companies with fewer or no women in senior roles:

  • In 2007, the average donations of companies with three or more women directors were 28 times higher than those of companies with no women directors.
  • Between 1997 and 2007, companies with more women board directors donated significantly more funds than did companies with fewer women—with each additional woman board director representing an increase of 2.3 million dollars.
  • Companies with 25% or more women corporate officers as of 2007 made annual contributions that were 13 times higher than those made by companies with zero women corporate officers.
  • Companies with more women corporate officers donated significantly more funds between 1997 and 2007, and for each percentage point increase in women corporate officers, yearly donations increased by 5.7 million dollars.

This study also indicates that companies with more women leaders are not only more committed, on average, to corporate social responsibility—they are also qualitatively better at it. Leaders who highlight gender issues in CSR strategies often position their organizations for sustained growth—a payoff that extends from the company to communities and society as a whole.

Source: Catalyst