A mere 4% of CEOs on Standard & Poor’s 500 Index are women, and women also make up less than a third of Congress.
Though it should seem obvious in 2016 that women should permeate executive roles, some still need to be convinced. Beyond simple fairness, here’s a list of reasons: companies with at least one woman on their board showed a higher return on investment than those without; more explicitly, women occupied boards have a “higher return on equity, a higher return on sales and a higher return on invested capital,” the report notes.
There are still other rewards: Companies with gender diversity at the leadership level are less vulnerable to issues of groupthink; ladies tend to lay off workers less. Retaining workers is actually cost-saving, preventing companies from spending more on hiring and training expenses. Fewer layoffs are good for morale. Finally, having women in boardrooms can also usher in broader diversity initiatives and greater acceptance of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer employees.
While more women at the top isn’t a cure for all our economic woes, these studies and statistics stand as a reminder that women are just as capable as their male counterparts to run a business.
http://mic.com/articles/139336/why-the-workplace-gender-gap-is-worse-for-women-of-color#.DNAvftMfP