From the macroeconomic point of view, the incorporation of women into the labor market has been one of the decisive factors for the increase in GDP and the development of modern society. But despite this, there is still a clear need for the role of women in management positions in companies to take on a greater role than it currently has. Less than 10% manage to occupy positions of high responsibility with the paradox that, according to different studies, when there is a woman on a board of directors, the results can be up to 53% better.
And what happens to the rest of the workforce in organizations that do not directly occupy positions on the Board of Directors or Management? 45% of the employees are women and they have a lot to contribute because the functional diversity of talent always brings wealth to those who know how to take advantage of it.
Promoting the talent of women in companies, in addition to being a concept of social justice, is an objective criterion for improving productivity and corporate results. For this reason, detecting and promoting female talent must be among the challenges of any organization that intends to remain competitive.
Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba (one of the world's largest e-commerce companies) explained that:
"one of Alibaba's secrets to success is that we have a large number of women. Women hold 47% of all jobs at Alibaba and 33% of senior positions"
Women should have the opportunity to leverage their distinct viewpoints, opinions, values, and competencies arising from their gender. Research conducted by Jack Zenger, in 2012 and 2019 revealed that in 12 out of 16 professional competencies assessed, women achieved higher scores than their male counterparts. While there's a common belief that women excel in skills related to interpersonal relationships and aiding others, the competencies where the most significant differences between men and women were observed include the ability to take initiative, self-development, integrity/honesty, and results orientation.
Additionally, Daniel Goleman's studies on Emotional Intelligence have highlighted specific competencies that women tend to excel in, including cooperation, communication, multitasking, adaptability to change, and responsibility.
In the context of the innovation imperative that companies are embracing, diversity stands out as a key driver of innovation. An analysis of Standard & Poor's 1,500 companies in 2012 found that firms emphasizing innovation in their strategies achieved better market value ratios when they had women in their management positions.
For those who prefer quantifiable evidence of the benefits, the World Bank's report "Investing in Women's Employment, Good for Business, Good for Development" offers a method in chapter 3 to measure costs and benefits in any organization, making a compelling case for investing in hiring women.
Failing to leverage the available resources within a company is counterproductive, and female talent is the new driver of value creation. Organizations that neglect to include women in their workforce risk falling behind in terms of competitiveness. It is crucial for businesses to embrace diversity as a source of strength rather than persisting with outdated models.
Identifying talent within any organization is already a challenging task, but the ability to recognize the unique competencies and skills that each individual brings is where the real distinction between success and failure lies.
*Post initially published on the website of GestionandoPersonas.
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At Hrider we are very proud to help our clients quickly carry out their competency assessments or their feedback processes with our system, thus managing to promote a transparent management with which to detect the strengths and potential of each of its employees.
In this way, they manage to take advantage of all the diversity of talent that they always end up discovering in their teams.