Female managers can help companies have more success

Equality in the workplace for women is a much debated topic. Undoubtedly, it is something that International Women’s day brought to light again. Particularly, it is revolving around how many female managers a company employs.

Research conducted by Weber Shandwick in 2016 revealed that women only made up 10.9% of senior roles in the world’s top 500 companies. That’s perhaps no surprise. But interestingly, the research also found that the companies with a high percentage of female leaders were those who obtained the most admired reputation.

A strong reputation is the foundation for a successful business. So do businesses need to see a rise in the number of females in senior and decision-making roles to succeed?

Key findings regarding Female Managers employment

Unsurprisingly, throughout the research it became apparent that out of the 500 companies studied, not one of them had an equal male to female representation.

Take a look at some of the further findings:

• With 27% of the managers being women, Sweden takes the lead for the market with the highest female managers
• General Merchandisers came out as the top industry for women with an index of 33%
• Only 13 out of 500 companies had a female CEO
• Nearly 4 in 10 companies had an all-male senior team with no female managers at all

Gender equality in companies

Outlined by Weber Shandwick in a previous study, 38% of executives stated that “diverse perspectives lead to better financial performance.” In order to get this diversity, an increase in female leaders is needed across companies.

International gender equality appears to be a long way off equal. The top ranking country for the most women in senior management is Sweden which still only stood at 27%.

Following Sweden was Turkey (26%), Norway (23%) and Australia (22%).

However, within the world’s top 500 companies we have seen a significant rise of 3.6 percent over 10 years (2004 to 2014) of female CEOs; a statistic which is continuing to increase year after year.

The findings show a strong female presence within management results in a strong company reputation. This speaks volumes about the positive business effects diversity can have.

If a company is renowned for their diverse and successful employees, businesses will see an increase in staff acquisition and retention.

Moreover, maintaining a good reputation is an internal job. Demonstrating equal opportunities within the workplace will no doubt help towards this.

Importance of company reputation

A company’s reputation can easily be their most competitive asset; and their most valuable. You only have to look at high-profile crises such as the Volkswagen emissions scandal. Significantly, this shows the impact a damaged reputation can have on financial standing.

Bersin and Deloitte found that by introducing a diversity and inclusion policy into the workplace cash flow is 2.3 times higher per employee. Statistics such as these outline the importance of having a good reputation both internally and externally. This is something that CEOs should consider implementing in the future.

Gender equality appears to be a new driver of company reputation. It has a significant impact on a number of factors from financial standing to staff and sales. Allowing the potential of gender balance and equal opportunities within the workplace could give CEOs the boost they need if they acknowledge and adapt to these studies and statistics.