Sustainability Magazine May 2023 | Page 76

DIVERSITY & INCLUSION

“Increasing the number of female leaders also helps to expand the talent pool of organisations ”

KATE BARKER CHIEF FUTURE OF WORK LEADER & GLOBAL CONSULTING ADVISOR
Elevating women to leadership roles As the old saying goes , ‘ seeing is believing ’. A business landscape where more women take on and accept high-level positions will not only inspire others to follow suit but will also ensure increased diversity in decision-making positions . Encouraging women to apply for leadership roles benefits businesses in a number of ways . In fact , gender diversity has actually been proven to increase profitability levels , as shown in a 2020 study by McKinsey and Company . The research found that companies in the top quartile for gender diversity on executive teams were 25 % more likely to have above-average profitability . What ’ s more , companies with women in leadership positions were also more likely to perform better financially , suggesting that diverse teams benefit the company ’ s bottom lines .
“ Increasing the number of female leaders also helps to expand the talent pool of organisations ,” Kate explains . “ Deloitte research found that diverse teams outperform homogeneous teams in
76 May 2023