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July 4, 2010

Women At The Top is Good Economics

Entrepreneur OneSource, Executive Coaching, Leadership Coaching, Organizational Wholeness, Human Wholeness,  

Women have been in mainstream business for 30 years, but they still make up less than 16 percent of the corporate officers in America’s 500 largest companies. In fact, there are only 15 women CEOs in the Fortune 500. Women also make up only 13.6% of board directors, hold only 7.9% of the highest titles in corporations; and are only 5.2% of the top earners.

More curious to me though are the numbers for women business owners. 38% of all businesses in the US are owned by women.  Those businesses produce $3.6 trillion in revenue; that's not a typo, it is TRILLION.  And to do this amazing financial result, women owned businesses employ 27.5 million people. I wonder if the leadership in the Fortune 500 companies ever pause and consider the opportunity cost for ignoring the female gender.   The traditional arguments for women in leadership initiatives speak to gender equity, accessing a bigger talent pool, diversifying company thinking and for some more progressive companies, mirroring the economic buyer profile -- oh yes, those numbers indicate that women are the key purchase decision-maker 70% of the time.  The economic story is even bigger.

Economic research reveals a strong correlation between shareholder returrn and the proportion of women executives in the top layers of an organization. In fact, according to the non-profit organization, Catalyst, big companies with the greatest number of female board members, on average, have significantly better financial performance than those with fewer women. In return on equity, companies with the highest percentages of female board members outperformed those with the least by 53%. In return on sales, the companies with more female board directors outperformed by 42% and in return on invested capital, by 66%. That’s a stunning difference!

As a women business owner I realize the choice I made in leaving an executive position in a public company to become a business owner.  Trusting my instinct and competence, my contribution to the world as an entreprenuer more fully honors my wholeness, resourcefulness, capability and creativity than was available within that corporate enviornment. My first taste of freedom as a business owner has sustained sixteen years later.  I suspect my colleauges who make up the 38% have a similar story.  Imagine what would be possible in restoring our economic engine in the US if more women owners experienced a welcoming environment and opportunities to fully express our wholeness. 

I say, if we want to improve the economy, it's high time to place more woman at the top of public companies! 

And, p.s. in honor of US Independence Day I want to share my nightstand reading.  This book will offer insight to how women leaders think about creating true wealth.  The book is Plenitude, written by Juliet B. Schor, a professor of Sociology at Boston College and a former Economics Department faculty at Harvard University.  This is true transformation for the 'dismal science.'  Follow Juliet's blog, http://www.julietschor.org/2010/05/welcome-to-plenitude/ and join the economic transformation!

Happy Independence Day!