Why It’s More Important Than Ever to Hire Women in Leadership Roles

The days of male-only leadership have gone and we’re now stepping into a world of gender equality, though we still have a long way to go, many companies are recognizing the importance of female leadership. Workplaces nowadays call for dynamic, fair leaders, and according to several studies, women are the best fit for the role.

The role of female leaders often brings a different perspective to business and operations, so organizations across the world need to put the focus on utilizing these benefits. Over the past 10 years, women have made up a significant number of hires, with many women looking for a long career in corporate industries as well as organizations having an added emphasis on women leadership programs.

Embracing diversity in the workplace is no longer a feminist notion, but an essential factor on many companies’ agendas as it helps to further drive effectiveness and efficiencies within teams, and organizations.

Below are some of the key reasons that it is more important than ever to hire women in leadership roles:

Fairness

First and foremost, a greater representation of women in leadership roles is a matter of fairness. All positions in the business should be equally available to anybody regardless of their non-job-related attributes and characteristics. By employing more women in leadership roles, younger members of the company will see these positions as potential future career paths, thus further improving diversity as roles progress.

Decision-makers

All employees within an organization are affected by the decisions made by its leaders. When women are not part of the decision-making teams, it limits the diversity of ideas that are presented and considered during the decision-making process. A leadership role is a powerful position and should be used to help carve out a path for the organization. Gender-balanced leaderships are less susceptible to issues that can arise when a group of people with similar groups and viewpoints make poor decisions because of a lack of diverse thinking.

Closing the pay gap

Leadership positions have and probably always will pay more than non-leadership positions, and higher pay leads to greater opportunities in an individual’s personal and work life. When women stay in lower-paid roles, their careers and opportunities both financially and professionally are reduced. By employing women into leadership roles, companies can make a positive change in the wealth distribution between the genders, and make big steps towards closing the gap.

Corporate responsibility

In years gone by, organizations have put an increasing focus on corporate social responsibility, in addition to profitability. Efforts are being invested in being good corporate citizens by contributing to the community and making a positive global impact. Female leaders not only tend to be more committed to social responsibility but are also key when developing social initiatives.

Bottom-line performance

Recently, researchers have focused on the bottom line performance of organizations in relation to gender equality, and have found a positive correlation between gender diversity and company profitability. Companies with low diversity put themselves at risk of underperforming against their more diverse counterparts.

Whether it’s to provide fair and equal opportunities or to maintain a balanced and effective strategy, companies in 2020 and beyond will benefit from moving towards a more diverse leadership team.