While the working world has made plenty of strides with gender diversity, we still have a long way to go in order to achieve true equality.
Consider these statistics:
The bottom line is this: barriers continue to exist for women in the workplace, and organizations continue to search for impactful ways to make a change. Why? Evidence proves that gender diversity is a must for today’s companies, and increasing gender diversity helps fuel a high-performing and profitable organization.
Here’s why gender diversity matters in the modern workplace:
A McKinsey study entitled “Diversity matters even more: The case for holistic impact” shows some stunning correlations between gender diversity and profitability. Companies in the top quartile for gender and ethnic diversity in executive teams are on average 9% more likely to outperform their peers. Meanwhile, those in the bottom quartile for both are 66% less likely to outperform financially on average (up from 27 percent in 2020). This indicates that a lack of diversity is becoming more and more costly for organizations.
Without gender diversity, organizations threaten to miss out on a wide range of voices, opinions, life experiences, and skills. This range of different voices translates to outside-the-box thinking and the innovation that organizations need to succeed in the competitive modern landscape. As a Harvard Business Review article points out, organizations with higher-than-average diversity rates have 19% higher innovation revenues. That “diversity of views” that gender diversity enables is a powerful driver for success.
Nothing disrupts a company’s steady progress quite like job turnover—and statistics show that the more diverse a team, the likelier it is that an employee will stay in their position. Glassdoor data shows that more than 3 out of 4 job seekers and employees (76%) report that a diverse workforce is an important factor when evaluating companies and job offers. Additionally, data from PWC shows that 61% of women look at the gender diversity of the employer’s leadership team when deciding where to work. A focus on gender diversity not only helps you keep your trusted employees around—it also helps to attract the next wave of talent, too. Job seekers have a watchful eye out for companies’ diversity and workplace culture, and organizations with strong gender diversity and inclusion practices can set itself apart in the competitive modern job market.
Did you know that the new thoughts and perspectives gender diversity deliver to teams can boost teamwork and collaboration? Take a look at this research from the University of Amsterdam, which states that teams with equal gender diversity helped ensure “mutual monitoring,” or job accountability, throughout—meaning a more successful outcome. Another research study from Fortinet found that gender-diverse teams make better decisions 73% of the time versus 58% of the time for all-male teams.
The best way to speak and market to a specific customer demographic is through the representation and input of members of that demographic. Without the insight and knowledge gender diversity gives an organization, how can you be sure your marketing, sales, and product development are on the right track? Gender diversity helps open up your base of appeal—and in a business world where women, for example, account for 85% of all consumer purchases—it’s an absolute necessity.
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