Here’s why companies should have a woman in an executive role

• There are ample examples and studies to prove why a woman should be on board as a leader.
  
• Firstly, gender diversity has a correlation with financial performance of the company.
  
• Bringing gender diversity in the labour force can boost India’s GDP by 27%, according to the IMF. It is not just the financial performance, women have a lot of other traits that they can bring to the board.
  

Gender diversity at the workplace has been the most talked about for a decade now. According to Fortune, women held 15.7% of board seats at Fortune 500 companies 15 years ago. But now they make up 25.5%. There are ample examples and studies to prove why a woman should be on board as a leader. Firstly, gender diversity has a correlation with financial performance of the company.

Currently women account for only 22% of Indian workforce. If this number exceeds even the world average of 48% then we can add about $700 billion to Indian economy, believes NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant. Moreover, bringing gender diversity in the labour force can boost India’s GDP by 27%, according to the IMF. It is not just the financial performance, women have a lot of other traits that they can bring to the board.

Empathy
Meenu Bagla, Global Brand, Field Digital Marketing Head of Tech Mahindra considers empathy as an important part of a workplace.

“Empathy is just not a thought or a concept for us, but women actually apply it to our day to day dealings, whether personal or professional. Empathy is not a fixed trait, but it comes a little easier for us women. Its in-built is to keep calm and collected in high pressure situations and understand the need to integrate empathy while communicating with our teams,” she said.


Multitasking
Be it at home or at office multi-tasking is another important element of a successful leader. Most working women in India are known to take care of their house and careers together.

“Who better to multitask responsibilities than a woman who for ages has been successfully handling work and home simultaneously? Multitasking is an inherent capability in every woman which helps them to balance their professional as well as personal responsibilities efficiently. In the boardroom, such a quality makes a woman stronger and a more effective leader,” Swati Lad, co-founder and CMO, CreditMate.


Higher Emotional Intelligence Quotient (EIQ)
Nowadays, companies are looking for more leaders who have both higher IQ and EIQ to add team value.

“Women leaders intrinsically come with a sense of purpose as career is a conscious choice, often against odds both professionally and personally. They operate beyond the precincts of ego which brings balance. Higher Emotional Intelligence Quotient (EIQ) helps them recognize their own emotions and those of others and deal with it aptly, says Lata Menon, country head - HR, India and MEA, Equifax.


Strength
Women in executive roles bring a gender balanced outlook with complementary strengths to support organization growth.

“As per the latest Ambitious Insights study’ (conducted by American Express in partnership with The New York Women’s Foundation), about 89% of Indian working women believe it is important to have ambitions or a strong desire to achieve success in life. We believe that women executives bring a unique blend of ambition, strength, perseverance and adaptability to the positions they occupy, while also driving women-empowered workplaces.” Megha Chopra- Country Business Head, Global Commercial Services, American Express Banking Corp.

Innovative
Gender diversity at the management level helps in making companies more innovative, respected and could also possibly enhance the company’s performance.

"For organizations to take balanced decisions, it helps to have a heterogeneous mix of ideas, opinions and perspectives which will also benefit the workplace environment. This is possible only if there is a fair representation of women in executive / leadership positions. Gender diverse leadership teams tend to have unique points of view which can help to find solutions to problems and generate new ideas, Neeraja Shetty CEO – Chief Executive Officer of Sami Labs Limited.


See also: Women’s Day Special : From Nirmala Sitharaman to Priyanka Chopra here are the powerful women who conquered the headlines