McKinsey Survey – Women Matter: Gender Diversity, a corporate performance driver

Companies where women are equally represented at board or executive levels are more likely to show a better overall performance. This is one of the results of the survey ‘Women Matter’, released by McKinsey. However the study also shows that women are – with a proportion of 11%- still underrepresented at executive committees in the top European companies. In order to gain an understanding of the main barriers that prevent women achieving top positions, McKinsey collected data and findings from other surveys and interviewed over 50 CEOs from European companies. According to the findings of the study, three of the main barriers of career advancement for women are male oriented corporate models, the “double burden” syndrome and the lack of mentors.
Regarding the correlation of gender diversity with business performance, McKinsey conducted two types of research on two cross-sections of business, namely organisational excellence and financial performance. Both research results showed that women have a positive impact on the overall performance of company. The survey also offers advice for companies on how to promote and retain highly qualified female employees so that more women obtain positions at executive levels.

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