Gender equality - Social Change or Business Imperative
Did You Know that according to a World Bank Study, around
the world, countries are losing $172 trillion in wealth because of differences
in lifetime earnings between women and men? This is proof enough that gender equality is not just a social or
moral imperative, but also an economic necessity.
The good news is that organizations are increasingly realizing that by
including women in their workforce, they are not just gaining competitive
advantage but also improving their profits. There are many arguments that exist
for increasing the focus around closing the gender gap, but the most compelling
is the growing body of research showing gender-diverse organizations are more
successful across all metrics.
Recent research indicates that Fortune 500 companies with at least three women
on their board of directors increased sales by 42%, increased ROI by 66%, and
experienced a ROE of 53%.
A survey by Carnegie Mellon University found that teams with at least one
female member had a collectively higher IQ than teams with only men.
Opening doors to women today means opening doors to the future. However, for
driving change and making real diversity and inclusion progress, it’s
imperative for organizations to have the right levels of leadership commitment
and accountability. Getting diversity governance right is the first step in
this direction. It would help to make gender
equality truly sustainable in business practices by overcoming the
resistance and concerns about women’s limited progress within the workplace
structure.
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