Rock Paper Coin is extremely proud to be women-owned and led! Sadly, in the tech industry, only 5% of startups are owned by women. And even more shocking is the lack of racial diversity. According to a 2019 study by the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT), the percentage of BIPOC women employees at tech and mathematical companies is only 3%. It is time for a change. And we wholeheartedly support the current movement for racial equality and justice – in our communities and our businesses.
Fortunately, there is some good news on the business front. More and more companies are recognizing the value of gender diversity and are promoting and hiring women leaders. And there are a lot of reasons behind that. Not only is it good practice – studies are showing its good business.
Women-led companies produce higher returns
A recent report by a Boston-based trading firm, Quantopian, studied the returns of Fortune 1000 companies from 2002-2014. During that 12-year period, the women-led companies saw 226% higher returns!
The numbers are telling. And everywhere you look, there are stats about the positive impacts of women in business. A July BBC Business Report stated that “firms where at least one-third of the bosses are women have a profit margin more than 10 times greater than those without.” RPC believes the value of gender diversity in leadership positions is undeniable.
The Credit Suisse Research Institute states “the higher the percentage of women in top management, the greater the excess returns for shareholders.” During a two and a half year period…
“Companies where women accounted for 25% of senior leadership outperformed at a compound annual growth rate of 2.8%; this increased to 4.7% at companies where women comprised 33% of senior leadership; and then jumped to 10.3% at companies where more than 50% of senior leaders are women compared with a 1% annual decline for MSCI ACWI index over the same period.”
FORBES
Women-led companies have stronger engagement
Peakon, a people analytics and employee engagement software provider has direct access to company data from across the globe. Peakon recently studied 60,000 employees under 3,000 managers, across 43 countries (with a majority of the participants from the U.S. and U.K.). The study generated some pretty compelling results…
“Employees at women-led companies are more positive relating to their organization’s corporate strategy and mission, and its ability to communicate on these topics when compared to male-led companies.
FORBES
Women-led companies seem to be better at inspiring belief in their products or services, leading to more overall employee engagement, when compared to male-led companies.
Employees at women-led companies seem to enjoy more autonomy and are specifically more satisfied with work-from-home policies when compared to male-led companies.”
Employees like working for women
“50% of Americans say they’d prefer to work for a female-led company over a male-led company because they’re more purpose-driven, more likely to have access to childcare, and are more likely to offer equal pay, according to a study conducted by Berlin Cameron, The Harris Poll and The Female Quotient.”
Employees recognize that female leaders bring a meaningful perspective to the workplace – and many had to work harder and longer, sacrifice more, and withstand further criticism than their male counterparts to get to their position. With women leaders, employees feel more empowered that they could also hold a position of leadership.
More and more workers – millennials in particular – place a larger emphasis on work culture and values. They don’t settle for just a decent paycheck anymore – they demand more from their place of work and seek out inclusive environments that celebrate minorities and underrepresented groups. Employees see female-led companies as more open-minded and progressive.
We love this quote from Former British Prime Minister Theresa May, who contributed to the Women Count 2020 report, “Every single male CEO who looks around his boardroom table to see nine out of 10 male faces staring back at him needs to ask himself what he is doing to make his business one which his daughter or granddaughter can get on in.”
Female CEO’s at all-time high on the Fortune 500 list
While women are still underrepresented in businesses overall (15% of companies in the FTSE 350 have no female executives at all) many large brands are starting to recognize the power and importance of having a female leader. In fact, some of the most recognized, highest grossing companies in the country are led by a female CEO.
1. General Motors. Mary Barra made the Fortune Top 100 list and she is the first female CEO of a major automaker. General Motors is a household name with $137 billion in revenue, 164,000 employees, and 7.7 million vehicles sold in 2019.
2. UPS. Carole Tomé became the CEO of UPS this month. This makes her the first woman CEO in the company’s 112-year history. UPS is a global leader in logistics, serving over 220 countries. UPS employs 495,000 people globally and 2019 revenue was reported at 74 billion. Carole previously served as CFO for the Home Depot.
3. Rite Aid. Heyward Donigan became CEO in September of 2019. Rite Aid is the third-largest drugstore chain, operating 2,466 stores in 18 states .The company reported $21.6 billion in revenue in 2019.
4. Gap. Sonia Syngal has served as the president and CEO of GAP Inc. since March 2020. Gap is a clothing retailer with 3,594 locations and over $16 billion in revenue. Prior to becoming CEO of Gap, Syngal served as Old Navy CEO, where the company was named as a Great Place to Work in 2016, 2017 and 2018. She has been named one of “The 50 Most Powerful Moms of 2018” by Working Mother Magazine and one of the “Most Influential Women in Business of 2018“ by San Francisco Business Times.
5. Best Buy. Corie Barry, at just 44-years old, is one of the youngest CEOs of an S&P 500 company. Best Buy Co. Inc., the leading provider of consumer technology products and services, with 125,000 employees in North America and nearly $44 billion in annual revenue.
Anyone else starting to hear the Beyonce song, “Run the World” play in your head?!
Shoutout to ALL the female leaders out there – no matter what size of business! The numbers cannot be denied and we are excited to see more and more women dominating their industries.
Want a cloud-based business management system offered by a female-owned and led tech company? Sign up for RPC today!
Resources:
Forbes
Bloomberg News
BBC Business
NCWIT
The Muse
DreamHost
Ivy Exec
Credit Suisse
Chief Executive
Wikipedia
Best Buy
UPS
Wikipedia
