Moving Women To The Top

McKinsey Global Survey results: Most executives believe gender diversity in leadership is linked to better financial performance, but companies take few actions to support women in the workforce.

  • The results of the survey show that gender issues are not high on the list of priorities for most companies, despite 72% of respondents who believe there is a link between better gender balance and financial results.
  • There was a 32% difference between those companies who mark gender diversity as a top 3 item on their agendas and how much gender balance they actually achieve at executive level positions.

The Numbers

  • 72% of those questioned believe there is a connection between diverse leadership teams and financial success.
  • 58% of men agree with the above, along with 85% of women.
  • 28% of all companies who took the survey have gender diversity as a top 10 agenda item.
  • 32% said it was not on their companies’ agenda at all.

Global Perspectives

Another compeitive edge for Asian companies may be the focus they put on gender?

  • Asia-Pacific: 35% of companies in AsiaPac say that gender balance is a top-10 agenda item for their companies.
  • Latin America: 21% n Latin America
  • Europe: 27%
  • North America:28%
  • 80% of those surveyed think that there has been no change in their companies’ views of gender diversity since the financial crisis began.

As the number of women participating in the workforce grows, their potential influence on business is becoming ever more important. Seventy-two percent of respondents to a recent McKinsey survey believe there is a direct connection between a company's gender diversity and its financial success. Indeed, the share saying so has risen in the past year, even in the face of continued economic turmoil.

Yet companies have not so far successfully bridged the gap between men and women in the top levels of management. This is not surprising, since the survey shows that diversity isn't a high priority at most companies, and that there's great variability in the number of gender-diversity policies companies have pursued. For both of these factors, the results suggest that more is better: At companies where gender diversity is higher on the strategic agenda and more related policies are implemented, executives say that company leadership is also the most diverse. Between respondents at companies that include gender diversity as a top-three agenda item and those at all companies, there is a 32 percentage-point difference between the shares who say women fill more than 15% of their C-level positions.

The degree of support from CEOs and other top managers is another important factor influencing a company's performance on diversity, respondents say, so it is notable that few companies' top management teams currently monitor relevant programs. The differences executives report at the most diverse companies suggest some ways all companies can improve their gender diversity and, eventually, their financial performance.

Read more...Forbes.com