We continue celebrating #WomenInQuality with another article that explores women in leadership roles. It has been a topic of interest for quite some time about getting more women into leadership roles, and, though there is a lot of public support and interest in pursuing this goal, change is not happening at a very accelerated rate. As we discussed in our last article there is significant value to having women throughout the workplace and in key roles. They bring different perspectives, are less averse to change, and grow a powerful attitude toward your company both internally and externally. However, in this article we want to focus predominantly on leadership roles.
Here are 5 ways women have a significant positive impact on the direction of a company when they are put in leadership roles.
1) More Effective Company Policy
According to a study done by The Rockefeller Foundation, over 70% of Americans believe having women in leadership roles would have a significant impact on wage gaps (76%), improved policy (74%), and a more diverse workforce (71%.) And, with the dynamics globally shifting toward a new workplace culture, those traits become even more important to employees and consumers.
And, as we discussed before, women are more open to change while minimizing risk – thereby leading to a more transformational atmosphere in the work environment. Meaning, women tend to be more open to changing things than men, which leads to a more engaged and happier workforce.
2) Enhanced Communication
One of the most common breakdowns in any business model and process revolves around communication. It has been shown multiple times over the last few decades that women are inherently better communicators than men (Ready To Manage, University of Kentucky, ResearchGate to name a few.) Women tend to have more open dialogue with more diverse inputs. These kinds of conversations with employers, co-workers and partners, create an open communication stream that creates a sense of clarity. This helps improve overall company wide communication.
3) Improved Empathy & Employee Well-being
Research by McKinsey & Company & Leanin.org has shown women are more effective at providing emotional support to employees, checking on their emotional well being, as well as helping them navigate a work life balance. Combine that with their increased attention to diversity and working to prevent employee burnout it quickly becomes obvious as to why employees stick around longer as well as enjoy working for the company.
4) Better Outcomes
You can draw a simple line from more effective company policies, enhanced communication, and improved employee attitude to overall better company outcomes. Studies have shown time and time again that a happy employee is more productive and more effective. When employees feel their well being is in good hands they are 27% more likely to be happy with their job. They are 25% more likely to recommend the company as a great place to work. 28% less likely to burn out. And, they are 32% less likely to consider leaving the company. Those numbers go way up when employees have strong allies. If you hire great people and make them happy the outcomes are incredible.
5) A Better Financial Outcome
All of these points add up to one major benefit. According to McKinsey, the most gender-diverse companies are 21% more likely to experience above-average profitability. The simple truth is if you have a bunch of happy employees, who have open lines of communication throughout the process, and produce higher quality work it is all but a given the bottom line will be positively impacted.
This won’t be a flash in the pan kind of movement. As more and more research comes out supporting the concept it becomes harder and harder to resist the simple fact that women make incredible leaders. Whether it is now during Quality Month or moving forward during all the other “regular” months, know that women can have an incredible impact on the way your company performs. For the better. We at Dot Compliance know that first hand.
