Women Matter 1 - Gender diversity, a corporate performance driver

October 2007 - Georges Desvaux, Sandrine Devillard, Pascal Baumgarten - McKinsey & Company

“Women Matter” is a study conducted by McKinsey & Company as part of its global partnership with the Women’s Forum for the Economy & Society.

The study suggests that the companies where women are most strongly represented at board or top-management level are also the companies that perform best. Confirming the existence of the gender gap – most notably in the composition of corporate management bodies – the McKinsey study offers fact-based insights into the importance for companies of fostering the development of women in the business arena, so that a greater number attain positions of high responsibility.

Finally, building on these insights and observations, and highlighting the main barriers to female representation on management bodies, this study seeks to bring the practical debate of how to make the transition from awareness of the situation to the implementation of change.

Are women the future of business? The question is open. [...]