Gender diversity

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gender diversity (German: " Gender diversity " or " Gender diversity ") describes the conscious recognition and promotion of gender parity in organizations and is an integral part of diversity management . A higher gender diversity is demanded and discussed, especially in management bodies of organizations such as executive boards and supervisory boards. Gender diversity is also required in areas that have traditionally been male dominated, such as software development , math , engineering , medicine and natural sciences .

Definition of terms

The term gender refers to the social gender of a person, which ascribes certain gender roles or gender-specific skills and characteristics to him. In gender literature, the term describes a gender that is dependent on social and cultural circumstances and thus a socio-cultural construction. This ascription therefore only corresponds to a stereotype and has nothing to do with the individual diversity of a personality. Gender as a characteristic of individual diversity is only one of the possible “diversity dimensions” of a person, such as culture (ethnicity), age, biological gender, sexual orientation, disability, religion (worldview).

As described above, the term gender diversity summarizes two mutually orthogonal concepts for the focus in diversity management . The term is rarely used in gender research, although the discussion of whether gender includes diversity as a term or whether gender is just one dimension of diversity continues (as of 2012).

history

The term first became known to a broader public in the course of the political discussion about the introduction of a statutory quota for women in executive floors. Since then, it has also been equated colloquially with the promotion of women , which is not correct in terms of content, since the original gender diversity approach is not necessarily limited to women.

The aim of the promotion is to enable a climate of tolerance in dealing with one another and to avoid discrimination by emphasizing and respecting the individually differing gender-specific differences and sexual orientations. In addition, for most companies, gender diversity management is not just a question of equality and fairness. Instead, the company management expects the promotion of gender diversity at the management level to also generate economic benefits for the company.

An essential hypothesis as to why the conscious promotion of gender balance should also bring economic benefits to companies is based u. a. on the assumption that women would lead more employee-oriented. The subordinate employees therefore also benefit from the increasing number of female leadership skills, which in turn can lead to corresponding increases in performance.

For many companies, gender diversity management is a component of personnel or human resources management.

Benefits for organizations

There are essentially three arguments for gender diversity:

Greater gender diversity can bring benefits to organizations. Greater gender diversity can lead to better business results, more customers, and higher sales and profits. By promoting gender diversity at management level, organizations can achieve greater diversity in their workforce. This allows them to access a larger talent pool when recruiting . However, there are also studies that suggest no or negative effects of this strategy. However, a meta-analysis from 2015 came to the conclusion that, despite partly contradicting study results, the advantages mentioned can be determined statistically.

Financial performance

A study by the Copenhagen Business School in 2013 came to the conclusion that sales teams with a higher gender diversity were able to achieve higher sales figures and profit than all-male teams.

Various studies in recent years support the thesis of the higher productivity of gender-heterogeneous management structures. For example, Roy D. Adler from Pepperdine University had already observed a correlation between the proportion of female managers and above-average profitability as part of a study of 215 Fortune 500 companies . Later studies based on this corroborated Adler's thesis. A study by McKinsey showed that companies with a higher gender diversity are 15% more likely to have higher earnings before interest and taxes ( EBIT ) than the median of the national industry.

In a study of S&P 500 companies for the years 1998–2002, however, no significant correlation between gender diversity and company performance could be found. However, this result is put into perspective in the meta-analysis.

A study by the University of British Columbia found that women on boards of directors help companies do better deals in mergers and acquisitions . According to this, every additional woman on a board of directors reduces the bid premiums paid by the bidding companies by 15.4%. Women are therefore an important component in maintaining the company's value .

reputation

With the gender diversity of an organization, its reputation increases . A study by the Otto Beisheim School of Management came to the conclusion that greater diversity in startups led to better marketing strategies and a better company image .

Customer base

A 2014 study by Gallup found that a more diverse workforce was better able to meet the needs of a company's customer base. The study was carried out in the hospitality industry . Business units with higher gender diversity had 14% higher sales and 19% higher profits, as well as significantly higher customer satisfaction than less diverse business units.

A study by the University of Maryland found that companies with higher gender diversity had higher numbers of customers than companies with fewer.

Decision-making processes

Various studies come to the conclusion that teams with higher gender diversity make better decisions . The teams with higher diversity focus more on facts, process these facts better and are more innovative.

A joint study by the University of Aalborg and the University of Iceland was able to show econometrically with a global data set that companies with a higher gender diversity were more innovative .

A study by the University of Castile-La Mancha found that Spanish research and development departments brought more innovations to the market when they had a higher gender diversity.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Kate Taylor: The New Case for Women on Corporate Boards: New Perspectives, Increased Profits. Forbes, June 26, 2012, accessed July 21, 2020 .
  2. ^ A b Annika Deutsch: Women in management bodies. Deloitte, accessed July 21, 2020 .
  3. ^ Jacob Clark Blickenstaff *: Women and science careers: leaky pipeline or gender filter? In: Gender and Education . tape 17 , no. 4 , October 1, 2005, ISSN  0954-0253 , p. 369-386 , doi : 10.1080 / 09540250500145072 .
  4. ↑ McKinsey, Women Matter, 2010, Women Matter 4 ( Memento of February 4, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
  5. ↑ Dagmar Vinz, Katharina Schierding, Gender and Diversity - Understanding and Shaping Diversity, in Gender and Diversity, Ed. Peter Massing, Wochenschau Verlag, 2010, ISBN 978-3-89974483-5 .
  6. ^ A b c Corinne Post, Kris Byron: Women on Boards and Firm Financial Performance: A Meta-Analysis . In: Academy of Management Journal . tape 58 , no. 5 , October 2015, ISSN  0001-4273 , p. 1546–1571 , doi : 10.5465 / amj.2013.0319 ( aom.org [accessed July 21, 2020]).
  7. ↑ a b Sander Hoogendoorn, Hessel Oosterbeek, Mirjam van Praag: The Impact of Gender Diversity on the Performance of Business Teams: Evidence from a Field Experiment . In: Management Science . tape 59 , no. 7 , March 4, 2013, ISSN  0025-1909 , p. 1514–1528 , doi : 10.1287 / mnsc.1120.1674 ( informs.org [accessed July 21, 2020]).
  8. ↑ a b Cedric Herring: Does Diversity Pay ?: Race, Gender, and the Business Case for Diversity . In: American Sociological Review . tape 74 , no. 2 , April 2009, ISSN  0003-1224 , p. 208-224 , doi : 10.1177 / 000312240907400203 .
  9. ↑ Barbara L. Rau, Maryanne M. Hyland: Corporate Teamwork and Diversity Statements in College Recruitment Brochures: Effects on Attraction1 . In: Journal of Applied Social Psychology . tape 33 , no. December 12 , 2003, ISSN  0021-9029 , p. 2465–2492 , doi : 10.1111 / j.1559-1816.2003.tb02776.x ( wiley.com [accessed July 21, 2020]).
  10. ^ Renee B. Adams, Daniel Ferreira: Women in the Boardroom and Their Impact on Governance and Performance . ID 1107721. Social Science Research Network, Rochester, NY October 22, 2008, doi : 10.2139 / ssrn.1107721 ( ssrn.com [accessed July 21, 2020]).
  11. ^ A b David A. Carter, Frank D'Souza, Betty J. Simkins, W. Gary Simpson: The Gender and Ethnic Diversity of US Boards and Board Committees and Firm Financial Performance . In: Corporate Governance: An International Review . tape 18 , no. 5 , 2010, ISSN  1467-8683 , p. 396-414 , doi : 10.1111 / j.1467-8683.2010.00809.x ( wiley.com [accessed July 21, 2020]).
  12. ↑ Roy D. Adler: Women in the Executive Suite Correlate to High Profits, European Project on equal pay, Women in the Executive Suite Correlate to High Profits ( Memento from January 23, 2013 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on January 3, 2013.
  13. ↑ Women in the Workplace 2015 study. McKinsey, accessed July 21, 2020 .
  14. ↑ Maurice Levi, Kai Li, Feng Zhang: Director gender and mergers and acquisitions . In: Journal of Corporate Finance (=  Inside the Board Room ). tape 28 , October 1, 2014, ISSN  0929-1199 , p. 185-200 , doi : 10.1016 / j.jcorpfin.2013.11.005 ( sciencedirect.com [accessed July 21, 2020]).
  15. ↑ Why Diversity and Inclusion Matter. Catalyst, June 24, 2020, accessed July 21, 2020 .
  16. ↑ Vijay Eswaran: The business case for diversity is now overwhelming. World Economic Forum, April 29, 2019, accessed on July 21, 2020 .
  17. ↑ Peter Witt, Verena Rode: CORPORATE BRAND BUILDING IN START-UPS . In: Journal of Enterprising Culture . tape 13 , no. 03 , September 2005, ISSN  0218-4958 , p. 273-294 , doi : 10.1142 / S0218495805000173 ( worldscientific.com [accessed July 21, 2020]).
  18. ^ Gallup Inc: The Business Benefits of Gender Diversity. January 20, 2014, accessed July 21, 2020 .
  19. ↑ David Rock, Heidi Grant: Why Diverse Teams Are Smarter. Harvard Business Review, November 4, 2016, accessed July 21, 2020 .
  20. ^ Christian R. Østergaard, Bram Timmermans, Kari Kristinsson: Does a different view create something new? The effect of employee diversity on innovation . In: Research Policy . tape 40 , no. 3 , April 1, 2011, ISSN  0048-7333 , p. 500–509 , doi : 10.1016 / j.respol.2010.11.004 ( sciencedirect.com [accessed July 21, 2020]).
  21. ↑ Cristina Díaz-García, Angela González-Moreno, Francisco Jose Sáez-Martínez: Gender diversity within R&D teams: Its impact on radicalness of innovation . In: innovation . tape 15 , no. 2 , June 1, 2013, ISSN  1447-9338 , p. 149–160 , doi : 10.5172 / impp.2013.15.2.149 .