Hiring More Women Good For Company Profits, Study Finds

By John Dodge

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Companies looking to improve performance and the bottom line should hire more female managers to run them.

That's the conclusion of a new study by the Peterson Institute for International Economics.

The study of 22,000 firms in 91 countries found that companies that have more women in high-level executive positions or on corporate boards see a 15 percent increase in net revenue.

Simply having a female CEO makes no difference. The key, according to the study is "creating a pipeline of female managers and not simply getting women to the very top."

"For profitable firms, a move from no female leaders to 30 percent representation is associated with a 15 percent increase in the net revenue margin," the study concluded.

The study also found that women continue to be absent from corporate boards and so-called "c-level" positions--defined as jobs with "chief" in the title.

A total of 60 percent of the companies in the study have no women on their corporate boards. Slightly more than half have no women in "c-level" positions. About a third of companies have neither.

The study suggests that adding more women "contributes to skill diversity"--thus improving the overall performance of a company's work force.

The data offered no evidence that quotas on corporate boards, which are mandated in some countries, made a difference. The study cited one example of adding more women but not at the expense of qualified men.

The International Triathlon Union, the sport's governing body, requires women to be appointed to its board, but allows for the addition of an extra board seat for every woman added.

In Gender Diversity Profitable?