Asia, then Europe, then America
FT.com / Comment & analysis / Comment – We must break the male cartel in the workplace.
I found this article really insightful and clearly thought-out. And very embarrassing. As I was reading, the author's premise became clear – that Asia is way out ahead of Europe in terms of recognizing the importance of having women in senior positions in the workplace, and putting them in those positions. And as I continued to read, it became increasingly clear that what she considers "behind" was still better than we in America have done and are doing.
But I put aside my chagrin: there are wonderful facts in this article. Here's my favorite:
According to a recent study by McKinsey, the management consultancy, companies with a higher proportion of women in senior management are on average 48 per cent more profitable than rivals. Diversified management means better management. Including more women in top positions, both in public and private sectors, changes decision-making processes fundamentally, as women tend to play down formalities and communicate directly, overcoming organisational blockages.
I'm pretty sure her proposed solution – introducing legislation for gender balance on company boards, at universities and in government – won't work in the US. But I can keep throwing stuff like this into the conversation…
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Nice post, Erika. I’m all in favor of having all the best brains in the game, regardless of what sort of plumbing the body connected to that brain has. But I have trouble with statistics like the McKinsey.
I’m sure they got the numbers right, but the statistics, and, usually the studies, don’t tell us anything about causality. Does having more women in senior management make a company more profitable? Or does it go the other way? Are companies that are profitable more willing to put women in senior positions?
My other problem with those statistics is that they fuel the debate about whether men or women are better managers. That debate is a sideshow at best. What we need are as many competent people in positions where they will be productive. We can’t do that without including both men and women.
Yeah, I don’t know about causality, either – what I love about that statistic is just the fact of it, whatever the cause, because it supports the business case behind diversity.
What I speculate is true (based on my observations of client companies), is that companies that invite a wider variety of people into senior management positions – old, young, black, white, male, female – are stronger and better able to weather change because they have a broader range of experience and perspective upon which to draw.
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[…] indicating that companies that have a higher representation of women in management ranks are more profitable and have higher employee productivity. And yet – I’ve noted this statistic before, […]
[…] indicating that companies that have a higher representation of women in management ranks are more profitable and have higher employee productivity. And yet – I’ve noted this statistic before, but I’ll […]
[…] indicating that companies that have a higher representation of women in management ranks are more profitable and have higher employee productivity. And yet – I’ve noted this statistic before, but I’ll […]
[…] indicating that companies that have a higher representation of women in management ranks are more profitable and have higher employee productivity. And yet – I’ve noted this statistic before, but I’ll […]
[…] indicating that companies that have a higher representation of women in management ranks are more profitable and have higher employee productivity. And yet – I’ve noted this statistic before, but I’ll […]
Women are important people in society they are supposed to be give a good position in their job.