The shares of companies with more women managers deliver higher returns, while a greater number of women executives is also correlated with stronger revenue growth and higher profit margins, according to a new report.
For the first part of their study, researchers at Credit Suisse looked at more than 3,000 companies from 56 countries. An analysis of share prices showed that the stocks of firms where over 20 per cent of top managers are women rose more over the past decade than the shares of other companies.
They also rose much more than firms where women make up under 15 per cent of senior management.
The authors note they do not assert cause and effect.
“How, and if, diversity contributes to the strategic decision-making that delivers superior and stable returns is the key, rather than diversity per se. Other factors can always be at work,” they write.
“The question is: does greater diversity lead to a better business model or is it the other way round?” they add.
1/20 Michelle Obama
The American lawyer and author served as the US first lady from 2009 to 2018. In March, her book Becoming was on course to become the most popular autobiography to date, having sold more than 10m copies, according to her publisher Bertelsmann.
2/20 Oprah Winfrey
The media mogul is best known for her television presenting and philanthropic work. However, Winfrey is also an accomplished actor, having starred in The Colour Purple (for which she received a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the Academy Awards), Selma, and A Wrinkle in Time.
WireImage
3/20 Angelina Jolie
The US actor, filmmaker and humanitarian has won accolades including an Academy Award and three Golden Globe Awards. Her work spans almost four decades, with roles in films like Maleficient, Wanted, Lara Croft, and Mr & Mrs Smith .
Getty Images for The Critics’ Ch
4/20 Queen Elizabeth II
As the first child of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, the royal took to the throne in 1952, meaning she has now ruled for longer than any other Monarch in British history. Her Majesty recently celebrated her 93rd birthday.
WireImage
5/20 Emma Watson
The 29-year-old actor started out her career in the film industry, with her role as Hermoine Granger in the beloved British literary adaptation Harry Potter. The Paris-born star has since gone onto study at both Oxford and Brown University and is a UN Women Global Goodwill Ambassador.
Getty Images
6/20 Malala Yousafzai
The Pakistani female education activist is the youngest Nobel Prize laureate. In 2012, the Taliban attempted to assassinate Yousafzai on the bus home from school after documenting her experiences during the Taliban’s growing influencer in the region. In recent years, the 22-year-old has become a leading figure of girls’ rights and is currently studying at Oxford University.
Walt Disney Television via Getty
7/20 Peng Liyuan
Liyuan is a Chinese folk singer and artist who is also married to the current General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Xi Jinping. Vanity Fair listed Peng in its annual best-dressed list of 2013, with Forbes naming her the 57th most powerful woman in the world a year later.
Getty Images
8/20 Hillary Clinton
The former politician was the first lady of the US from 1993 to 2001. Clinton was the Democratic Party nominee for president of the United States in the 2016 election but lost out on the role to then Republican Party nominee Donald Trump. She is the first woman to receive the presidential nomination of a major US political party and documented her life in politics in her best-selling book What Happened in 2017.
Getty Images
9/20 Tu Youyou
The Chinese pharmaceutical chemist is best known for having discovered artemisinin and dihydroartemisinin – drugs used to treat malaria. She is the first mainland Chinese scientist to have received a Nobel Prize in a scientific category. Youyou is often referred to as the “three noes” winner having won the prize without a medical degree, doctorate, or training overseas.
VCG via Getty Images
10/20 Taylor Swift
The 29-year-old singer is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with hits such as ‘We Are Never Getting Back Together’, ‘Shake It Off, and ‘Bad Blood’. Not only is the songwriter making waves in the music industry but she’s also starring in the upcoming film Cats as character Bombalurina.
Getty Images for TAS
11/20 Madonna
Singer. Songwriter. Actor. Businesswoman. The 60-year-old has many titles under her belt with successes including hit songs such as ‘Like a Prayer’ and ‘Vogue’. The American star has also stared in films like Evita and Who’s That Girl.
Getty Images
12/20 Angela Merkel
The 65-year-old politician currently serves as Chancellor of Germany. She was also the leader of the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU). In October, Merkel announced that she would not seek re-election as leader of the CDU and as Chancellor in 2021.
Getty Images
13/20 Deepika Padukone
The Indian film actor and producer is one of the highest-paid actors in the country. Last year, Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Padukone regularly speaks out about issues such as feminism and depression after she was diagnosed with the medical conditions in 2014.
Getty Images for Time
14/20 Priyanka Chopra
The Indian actor, who recently married singer Nick Jonas, is also a singer and film producer. She first hit the headlines in 2000 after winning the Miss World pageant. Chopra regularly speaks about the importance of self-love, women’s rights, and mental health awareness.
15/20 Ellen DeGeneres
The American comedian is best known for her work as the host of her eponymously-titled talk show, The Ellen Degeneres Show. She has previously hosted the Academy Awards, Grammy Awards, and the Primetime Emmys as well as starring in films such as Finding Nemo and Finding Dory as the voice of Dory – a blue tang fish who suffers from memory loss.
Walt Disney Television via Getty
16/20 Aishwarya Rai
Rai is an Indian actor, model and winner of the Miss World pageant in 1994. The 45-year-old has won two Filmfare Awards and was honoured with the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the Government of France in 2012.
WireImage
17/20 Sushmita Sen
The Indian film actor and model was won the Miss Universe contest at the age of 18 in 1994. She has since worked in several Hindi films, and Tamil and Bengali language projects. Sen is a role model for many women around the world having adopted two girls at the age of 25 and has described being born a woman as a ‘huge award’.
WireImage
18/20 Theresa May
The British prime minister is a politician who previously served as the British Home Secretary from 2010 to 2016. She is the second woman to have been elected to the position of prime minister in British history.
Getty Images
19/20 Melania Trump
The former model is currently the first lady of the US. She was born in Slovenia and regularly speaks about the importance of teaching and empowering young people.
Getty Images
20/20 Yang Mi
The Chinese actor and singer made her acting debut in the television series Tang Ming Huang. The 32-year-old is also a global ambassador for US fashion brand Michael Kors and has previously starred in an Estée Lauder campaign.
Getty Images for Stuart Weitzman
1/20 Michelle Obama
The American lawyer and author served as the US first lady from 2009 to 2018. In March, her book Becoming was on course to become the most popular autobiography to date, having sold more than 10m copies, according to her publisher Bertelsmann.
2/20 Oprah Winfrey
The media mogul is best known for her television presenting and philanthropic work. However, Winfrey is also an accomplished actor, having starred in The Colour Purple (for which she received a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the Academy Awards), Selma, and A Wrinkle in Time.
WireImage
3/20 Angelina Jolie
The US actor, filmmaker and humanitarian has won accolades including an Academy Award and three Golden Globe Awards. Her work spans almost four decades, with roles in films like Maleficient, Wanted, Lara Croft, and Mr & Mrs Smith .
Getty Images for The Critics’ Ch
4/20 Queen Elizabeth II
As the first child of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, the royal took to the throne in 1952, meaning she has now ruled for longer than any other Monarch in British history. Her Majesty recently celebrated her 93rd birthday.
WireImage
5/20 Emma Watson
The 29-year-old actor started out her career in the film industry, with her role as Hermoine Granger in the beloved British literary adaptation Harry Potter. The Paris-born star has since gone onto study at both Oxford and Brown University and is a UN Women Global Goodwill Ambassador.
Getty Images
6/20 Malala Yousafzai
The Pakistani female education activist is the youngest Nobel Prize laureate. In 2012, the Taliban attempted to assassinate Yousafzai on the bus home from school after documenting her experiences during the Taliban’s growing influencer in the region. In recent years, the 22-year-old has become a leading figure of girls’ rights and is currently studying at Oxford University.
Walt Disney Television via Getty
7/20 Peng Liyuan
Liyuan is a Chinese folk singer and artist who is also married to the current General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Xi Jinping. Vanity Fair listed Peng in its annual best-dressed list of 2013, with Forbes naming her the 57th most powerful woman in the world a year later.
Getty Images
8/20 Hillary Clinton
The former politician was the first lady of the US from 1993 to 2001. Clinton was the Democratic Party nominee for president of the United States in the 2016 election but lost out on the role to then Republican Party nominee Donald Trump. She is the first woman to receive the presidential nomination of a major US political party and documented her life in politics in her best-selling book What Happened in 2017.
Getty Images
9/20 Tu Youyou
The Chinese pharmaceutical chemist is best known for having discovered artemisinin and dihydroartemisinin – drugs used to treat malaria. She is the first mainland Chinese scientist to have received a Nobel Prize in a scientific category. Youyou is often referred to as the “three noes” winner having won the prize without a medical degree, doctorate, or training overseas.
VCG via Getty Images
10/20 Taylor Swift
The 29-year-old singer is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with hits such as ‘We Are Never Getting Back Together’, ‘Shake It Off, and ‘Bad Blood’. Not only is the songwriter making waves in the music industry but she’s also starring in the upcoming film Cats as character Bombalurina.
Getty Images for TAS
11/20 Madonna
Singer. Songwriter. Actor. Businesswoman. The 60-year-old has many titles under her belt with successes including hit songs such as ‘Like a Prayer’ and ‘Vogue’. The American star has also stared in films like Evita and Who’s That Girl.
Getty Images
12/20 Angela Merkel
The 65-year-old politician currently serves as Chancellor of Germany. She was also the leader of the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU). In October, Merkel announced that she would not seek re-election as leader of the CDU and as Chancellor in 2021.
Getty Images
13/20 Deepika Padukone
The Indian film actor and producer is one of the highest-paid actors in the country. Last year, Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Padukone regularly speaks out about issues such as feminism and depression after she was diagnosed with the medical conditions in 2014.
Getty Images for Time
14/20 Priyanka Chopra
The Indian actor, who recently married singer Nick Jonas, is also a singer and film producer. She first hit the headlines in 2000 after winning the Miss World pageant. Chopra regularly speaks about the importance of self-love, women’s rights, and mental health awareness.
15/20 Ellen DeGeneres
The American comedian is best known for her work as the host of her eponymously-titled talk show, The Ellen Degeneres Show. She has previously hosted the Academy Awards, Grammy Awards, and the Primetime Emmys as well as starring in films such as Finding Nemo and Finding Dory as the voice of Dory – a blue tang fish who suffers from memory loss.
Walt Disney Television via Getty
16/20 Aishwarya Rai
Rai is an Indian actor, model and winner of the Miss World pageant in 1994. The 45-year-old has won two Filmfare Awards and was honoured with the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the Government of France in 2012.
WireImage
17/20 Sushmita Sen
The Indian film actor and model was won the Miss Universe contest at the age of 18 in 1994. She has since worked in several Hindi films, and Tamil and Bengali language projects. Sen is a role model for many women around the world having adopted two girls at the age of 25 and has described being born a woman as a ‘huge award’.
WireImage
18/20 Theresa May
The British prime minister is a politician who previously served as the British Home Secretary from 2010 to 2016. She is the second woman to have been elected to the position of prime minister in British history.
Getty Images
19/20 Melania Trump
The former model is currently the first lady of the US. She was born in Slovenia and regularly speaks about the importance of teaching and empowering young people.
Getty Images
20/20 Yang Mi
The Chinese actor and singer made her acting debut in the television series Tang Ming Huang. The 32-year-old is also a global ambassador for US fashion brand Michael Kors and has previously starred in an Estée Lauder campaign.
Getty Images for Stuart Weitzman
For the second part of their research, the authors focused on 476 family-owned firms out of their total sample of 3,000 companies. They had previously found that the stocks of family-owned businesses tend to generate above-average returns.
Again, they found that a greater number of women executives was correlated with better share price performance over the past 10 years.
Giving an example of what they called “striking results”, the researchers write: “Over the past five years, family-owned companies with at least one women executive have outperformed male-only family-owned companies in every year.”
The report also reveals that family-owned firms with a substantial number of women executives shine when it comes to revenue growth and profit margins, and they have a lower reliance on debt.
The research adds to earlier findings on the effects of gender diversity at companies. For example, Rebecca Moss at the University of Nottingham has found that women board directors significantly improve banks’ performance during a financial crisis. To assess performance, Ms Moss used both a stock-based measure and an accounting-based gauge.
These results provide support for the business case for more women directors, “especially within high-risk environments”, she argued.
Credit Suisse researchers also conducted a survey of 120 family-owned companies in over 10 countries and discovered that a bigger share of women executives results in a greater tendency to “do good” – by focusing on things like the company’s environmental impact, workers’ well-being and corporate governance.
