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A woman's touch could help companies recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new report which showed that profitability, performance and productivity all increase under female leadership.
The report, released on Friday by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency and the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC), found that having women in key decision making roles such as on company boards was strongly linked with improved performance.
By examining companies listed on Australia's stock market (ASX), they found that an increase in "top-tier" female managers of 10 percent or more led to a 6.6-percent increase in the businesses' market valuation, worth the equivalent of 71.7 million U.S. dollars.
Report author and BCEC Principal Research Fellow Associate Professor Rebecca Cassells said effective leadership has never been so important during the COVID-19 crisis and the uncertain road to economic recovery.
"When businesses are looking to a post-COVID-19 world, our research shows that having a female CEO has the potential to help companies navigate through the crisis," Cassells said.
ASX-listed companies with a woman in the top job of CEO, on average saw a 5-percent increase in their market value, equivalent to 54.5 million U.S. dollars.
However, according to the report's authors, three in 10 of the companies studied had no female board representation at all, and overall women made up just 17.1 percent of CEOs.
Director of the Workplace Gender Equality Agency Libby Lyons said that the landmark study proved having more women leading business was not just about fairness, but also a commercial imperative.
"This report provides tangible proof to support the established business case for gender equality. More gender-balanced leadership will improve the bottom line and financial performance of any organization," Lyons said.
"As we 'snap forward' to a post-COVID-19 economy, this report demonstrates that CEOs and senior executives must include gender equality as they develop recovery plans."
