For business, more women in charge may increase profits
LONDON — When Rohini Anand took over diversity programs at multinational catering company Sodexo in 2002, she had one goal: To prove that it pays for a company to have equal numbers of male and female managers.
Sodexo, which has 419,000 employees in 80 countries, says she’s done just that. A companywide study last year found that units with equal numbers of men and women in management roles delivered more profits more consistently than those dominated by men.
“It has become embedded now. It’s not just me talking about it anymore,” Anand says with “I told you so” satisfaction.
Evidence is growing that gender equity is not just politically correct window-dressing, but good business. Yet while companies are trying to increase the number of women in executive positions, many are struggling because of a failure to adapt workplace conditions in a way that ensures qualified women do not drop off the corporate ladder.
The case for companies to act is compelling.
In a survey last year of 366 companies, consultancy McKinsey & Co. found that those whose leadership roles were most balanced between men and women were more likely to report financial returns above their national industry median.
Companies with more balanced leadership do a better job recruiting and retaining talented workers, reducing the costs associated with replacing top executives, McKinsey found. They also have stronger customer relations because management better reflects the diversity of society, and they tend to make better business decisions because a wider array of viewpoints is considered.
While most big companies now have programs to increase gender diversity, many executives express frustration these programs aren’t working. McKinsey found that 63 percent of the employers it surveyed had at least 20 initiatives to address gender equity, but women held less than a quarter of the top jobs in 92 percent of the companies.
The average workplace remains locked in a post-war factory mentality with structured hours and a requirement to be at the office — and the expectation to keep working from home even when not physically present, researchers say. Take Emma Arkell. As a top divorce attorney at a large London law firm, she counted celebrities and the British aristocrats among her clients. Her career seemed certain to soar — until the kids came along.
After watching female colleagues struggle to balance family responsibilities with demands at work, Arkell realized she couldn’t do both. Instead, she started her own company making a line of natural skin care products after developing a cream that successfully treated her daughter’s rashes.
“I could do it from home,” she said of the business. “I had complete control of it.”
And it’s not just about hours. Women often struggle with a male-dominated culture at executive levels, surveys show.
