Women in senior executive positions enhance ROI.

I just finished reading, Womenomics, Write You Own Rules for Success by Claire Shipman and Katty Kay.  They had some fascinating insights into the value of female leaders and their contributions to ROI.

If you want your organization to increase its ROI, then you might want to know about recent research done in France. The findings show that companies with more women in management positions did better during 2008 than those with fewer women.  For example, the share price of Hermes rose by 16.8%.  Keep in mind that 55% of the firm’s executives are women.

At Pepperdine University, a nineteen year survey of 215 Fortune 500 companies and took three different measures of profitability:  equity, revenue, and assets.   The companies that had the best records for promoting women outperformed the competition.  These companies beat the industry average by 116% in terms of equity, 46% in terms of revenue, and 41% in terms of assets.  It concludes women are good for profits.

What is the link between gender diversity in the top leadership and U.S. corporate financial performance?  In the late 1990s, Catalyst, an independent research organization, completed a study of 353 of the Fortune 500.  A higher number of women in senior management results in a higher return on equity and a higher total return to shareholders by more than one third. 

In an effort to make their firms more competitive in the global economy, the minister of trade in Norway demanded that 40% of women be on the board of each company.  

If your company wants to make more money, then one solution is to employ more women in senior leadership positions.  It seems women are now the hot commodity in today’s workplace.

What can you do to attract and retain top female talent?   Women place a high value on flexibility because it allows them to more effectively live their dual lives as professional women and as mothers.  To retain these employees, companies are offering alternative work schedules, furloughs, unpaid vacation time, and reduced schedules. 

Flexibility is viewed as a way to keep up morale and avoid mass layoffs.  During harsh economic times, this is a way to cut labor costs.  Yet at the same time, companies are able to accommodate the wishes for flexibility desired by many women.

What will the future bring?  Women earn 57% of bachelor’s degrees in the United States and 58% of all graduate degrees.  In business, women comprise over one third of all graduates.  From 1996 to 2002, the senior ranks of women in Fortune 500 companies grew from 10% to 16%.  This is more than a 50% increase in just six years.  The feminization of leadership is a trend worth watching.

Do you think seeking out women for senior executive positions is a good business strategy?

I love my sweet geek!

He reminded me that he would need to upload all the images because he said that aspect was simply beyond my low technical abilities. You see I am married to a high level expert geek.

My sweet geek’s philosophy is that technology is “intuitive.” You learn technology by doing and figuring things out by yourself. One day I had to tell him he is no longer allowed to use the word, “intuitive” when he is showing me how to do something on the computer.

Now I must confess I am not totally ignorant of technology. I am a lover of technology, but I only use it as a tool to accomplish business goals. I understand the applications of technology. I sold millions of dollars worth of emerging technologies when I was in the corporate sector.

Well, now back to my floundering marriage to my sweet geek. My website and this new blogging thing were both driving a real wedge between us.

Then one day, my social networking rock star guru, Sabrina Gibson, introduced me to WordPress. It is so simple. I do not have to learn “coding” of any kind. I can upload images and videos easily. I can edit my blogs easily. I can add all sorts of really cool widgets easily!

Now it is easy to update my blog easily and it is so much fun to do. There is no gnashing of teeth or disappointed looks between myself and my sweet geek. Thank you WordPress, you saved my marriage and romance is once again well and alive!

Have you ever wondered why more women do not go into careers in science and technology? Is it possible that we are not offering our young women cool and hip role models to show them that it is quite normal and it is fun to be a computer engineer?

Our young women may wonder, “Am I smart enough to do something that requires brains? Do I have the right stuff to go into science and technology? Is it normal for somebody who wants to be pretty and accepted by both boys and girls to become a computer engineer?”

The United States is no longer the world’s leader in creativity and innovation. Check out my prior blog post entitled,”Mirror, Mirror, on the wall, who is the most innovative country of all?” Did you know that three million jobs went unfulfilled this past year in the field of science and technology in the United States alone?

Oftentimes you are not cool if you are female and you want to be a computer engineer. It is not unusual to suffer social ostracism. I speak from experience. I remember being the “nerd” in high school because I took advanced math courses. I was so embarrassed.

Therefore, how can we make it cool for young women to love mathematics in our middle and high schools?

Here is an article that you will find enlightening about the need to make math cool:  

Academics Say Make Math Cool to Promote U.S. Competitiveness

We must demonstrate to our young women that it is hip and cool to obtain the math education they need to pursue careers in science and technology.

You can make one small difference today to put our young women on the right path to embracing technology. You can send the message that it is is cool and hip to be a technical woman!

Go vote today for Barbie to become a computer engineer so she can become a role model to young women everywhere. Both men and women should vote.

It only takes two seconds, go to http://www.barbie.com/vote/ and vote for Barbie to be a computer engineer.