Productivity and profitability are known to excel in organisations with at least 3 female board members. Teams with 50/50 men and women are more innovative than those that are male dominant. And, as consumers, women are directly involved in the purchase of most products and services sold.
Yet despite the obvious benefits of harnessing the female talent pool there is a steady flow of women leaking out of the pipeline between junior recruits and board. For most companies in the world, a 50% female intake of junior recruits falls to 30% women at managerial level, 15% at senior executive and 10% or less at board level.
See Catalyst report on Gender and the Bottom Line for further information
See PWC Leaking Pipeline report for more details
Recruitment and retention
In order to attract and recruit the most capable and talented employees, you need to look at the broadest pool of candidates from which to select. In doing so, organisations harness a more diverse range of experiences and skills. CMIRE survey 2007 has shown that female resignation rates are at an all time high. The Women and Work Commission have shown that one in five women do not return to work after maternity or adoption leave, another one in five will return to a different employer. In addition, of those that do rejoin the labour force following birth or adoption, one in five will take a job that underutilises their skills. There are approximately 1 million women who want to work but feel they cannot
To retain this talent it is crucial to create a climate where all individuals, regardless of what their gender is, feel included and valued. The CIPD estimates the average costs of recruitment, selection, cover, administration and induction between £8,200 and £12,000 for unskilled employee and the cost of replacing a skilled employee estimated to be 3 to 5 times salary. It makes sense to boost retention rates. The cost of losing a skilled employee – or knowing she has joined a competing firm with a more attractive culture – can be much greater.
Getting it right sends out messages that this is an organisation that you would want to work for.
Increased Productivity
Valuing the broad spectrum of employees increases an employee’s loyalty, motivation and productivity. Phase One of the “Mums Going Back to Work” research shows that those mothers who feel supported throughout their pregnancy, maternity and return to work are not only more loyal, they are more likely to go the extra mile, helping their colleagues and working late when required.
Many studies have shown that diversity from board membership to shop floor, not only increases a firm's overall performance, it increases its value.
Better Understanding of Customers and Clients
Gender-confident organisations will be able to capitalise on the greater understanding they have of the spectrum of current and potential customers and clients. This is crucial at a time when the demographics of the marketplace are changing fast, as is the demand from consumers for flexible products and services.
Corporate Reputation and Social Responsibility
The ethical benefits of Gender Confidence are a central component of the business case for action. Responsible behaviour, also referred to as CSR, should be at the core of an organisation's programmes and strategies, not a bolt-on to operations.
The most success organisations are those that recognise responsible business can help them to innovate and develop new products and services, access new markets whilst minimizing risk.
Regulatory Compliance
Gender Confidence helps to ensure that you stay within the law. For example, in 2007, the Tribunals service reported that 30,000 women leave work due to pregnancy discrimination. There are a number of obvious benefits of ensuring that you do not act in an unlawful manner.
These include:
- Reputation Management: discrimination and human rights violation cases are extremely damaging to corporate reputation; they attract high profile negative press coverage and stakeholder pressure.
- Reduced legal costs and damages: Average award for single plaintiff sex discrimination £6724 (Tribunals service 2007) claims are unlimited. Anecdotal evidence suggests out-of-court settlements for skilled workers can range from £15k-£270k or more.
