Why Are Women Good For Business?
The gender research index studies listed in this section look at diverse populations and correlate the presence of women – primarily in leadership positions – with the results achieved by the group, organization or sector studied. More and more gender research studies are showing that women in leadership make a measurable and positive impact on business and the economy!
- Women As Levers of Change (FP Analytics 2019)
- Women-run Startups Produce more Revenue (BCG, 2018)
- Is Gender Diversity Profitable? (Peterson Institute, 2016)
- How Having More Women Pays Off: Women Correlated with Higher Returns (Morgan Stanley, 2016)
- The Business Benefits of Gender Diversity and Working Women on the Front Lines (Gallup, Badal, 2014)
- How Diversity Can Drive Innovation (Harvard Business Review 2013)
- Women on Boards Negotiate Better M&A Deals (Li, Sauder School of Business, 2013)
- Why Diversity Matters (Review of multiple studies conducted by Catalyst Research, 2013)
- WDR 2012: Gender Equality and Development (Lin, World bank, 2012)
- Is There A Payoff From Top-Team Diversity? (McKinsey 2012, Thomas Barta, Markus Kleiner, Tilo Neumann)
- Women in Charge: The Impact of Female Managers on Gender Inequality (Academy of Management, 2012)
- Women Drive Successful Startups (Dow Jones, 2012)
- Unlocking The Full Potential Of Women (McKinsey 2011, Barsh, Yee)
- The Impact of Gender Diversity on the Performance of Business Teams: Evidence from a Field Experiment (Tinbergen Institute, 2011, Hoogendoorn, Oosterbeek, van Praag)
- The Bottom Line: Corporate Performance and Women’s Representation on Boards, 2004–2008 (Nancy M. Carter, Ph.D., and Harvey M. Wagner, Ph.D., Catalyst 2011)
Are Women Capable Leaders?
These gender research index studies evaluate what women (and men) are capable of, genetically, neurologically and behaviorally. Many of them draw conclusions or hypotheses about how these fundamental capabilities affect our ability to perform in business situations.
- The Myth of the Female/Male Brain (Quartz, 2017)
- Women Rate Higher In Leadership Competence (Korn Ferry, 2014)
- Women in Leadership Are As Good As Men (American Psychological Association 2014)
- Women Rising: The Unseen Barriers (HBR, Ibarra & Kolb, 2013)
- A Study in Leadership: Women Do it Better Than Men (Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman – Zenger/Folkman 2012)
- Competition & Group Settings Can Diminish Expressions of Intelligence, Especially Among Women (Science Daily, Virginia Tech 1/22/2012)
- Deflating News For Men: Women Better Investors (Ledbury Research 2011)
- Overcoming the Backlash Effect: Self-Monitoring and Self-Promotion (Olivia A. O’Neill, PhD and Charles O’Reilly, Stanford Graduate School of Business 2011)
- Men’s Overconfidence Retards Women’s Advancement to Leadership (Ernesto Ruben, Pedro Rey-Beil, Paola Sapienza, Luigi Zingales, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization 2011)
- Are Girls Good At Math? YES. (Jonathan Kane and Janet E. Mertz, 2011)
- What If Women Ran Wall Street? (Sheelah Kolhatkar, New York Magazine 2010)
- Are Women CEO’s Trusted? YES. (ILM)’s Index of Leadership Trust (FreshMinds Consultants, 2010)
- His Brain, Her Brain: How We’re Different (Scientific American Minds 2010)
- Gender, Risk and Competition (Alison Booth, Vox, 2009)
- Women In Leadership (Pfaff , 2009)
- The Qualities that Distinguish Women Leaders (Greenburg, Caliper 2005)
- Female Leadership Advantage (Alice H. Eagly, Linda L. Carli, The Leadership Quarterly 2003)
- Are Women Good Negotiators? (Laura J. Kray, Adam D. Galinsky, Leigh Thompson. Elsevier 2000)
- Women Who Develop Non-Defensive Coping Skills Make Better Leaders (Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research 1996)
- When Women Lead, Firms Win (S&P Global Daniel J Sandberg PHD, CFA, Quantamental Research)
- Women Are Environmentally Friendly (Abrams Research, Abrams)
How Many Women Are There In Business?
These gender research index studies track the number of women – usually as a percentage – at various levels of participation in business, government and other organizations. Because many of the studies above show correlation between women in leadership, as measured by board membership and senior executive roles, there is an emphasis in participation studies on these categories. We endeavor to find as many participation metrics as we can and will list them here.
- The “broken rung” is the biggest obstacle women face (Lean In, 2019)
- 2014 Census: Women on U.S. Boards (Catalyst Research, 2015)
- Women More Likely to Lead the Social Enterprise (Social Enterprise UK, 2013)
- Women-owned Businesses Grow Under the Radar (American Express OPEN 2013)
- Women Are The World’s Most Powerful Demographic: U.S. Multicultural Insights (Neilson Consultants, 2012)
- The Plain Numbers of Women in Tech – Venture Capital (Hess, 2012)
- Women in the US Military: Growing Share, Distinctive Profile (Eileen Patten and Kim Parker, Pew Research Center 2011)
- Millennial Women Burn Out Early (McKinsey, Captivate Network, 2011)
- The 2011 Study of High Net Worth Women’s Philanthropy (Osili and Mesch, The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University 2011)
- High Performance Entrepreneurs: Women in High-Tech (Illuminate Researchers, Illuminate Ventures, 2011)
- Unlocking The Full Potential Of Women (McKinsey 2011, Barsh, Yee)
How Can Women Advance In Their Careers?
The gender research index studies in this section provide insight into what you can do with your innate abilities to advance your career, get promotions and build your business and resume. They study the behaviors, skills and attitudes that successful (and unsuccessful) business people exhibit and provide insights based on the correlations of behavior and success.
- When Women Don’t Speak (Brittany Karford Rogers in the Spring 2020 Issue of BYU Magazine)
- How Corporate America Has Gotten Worse (not better) for Mothers (Market Watch, 2017)
- Why “Believe in Yourself” is Bad Advice (Knowledge Insead EDU 2017 Natalia Karelaia)
- Winning Workplaces for Women (Great Place To Work, 2016)
- Factors that Lead to a Pay Premium for (Some) Women (Harvard Business Review, 2016)
- The Power of Flexibility: A Key Enabler to Boost Gender Parity and Employee Engagement (Bain & Co, 2015)
- Why Women Don’t Negotiate Their Pay Offers (Harvard Business Review, 2014) <=Good Advice!
- Women Need More Hot Jobs To Advance (Catalyst, 2014)
- If You’re Going To Be A Leader, At Least Act Like It! (British Journal of Psychology, 2013)
- Do Women Negotiate Salary? (Liebbrandt & List, National Bureau of Economic Research, 2012)
- The Language of Female Leadership (Judith Baxter, UK Economic and Social Research 2011)
- Do Nice Guys- and Gals- Really Finish Last? The Joint Effects of Sex and Agreeableness on Income (Timothy A. Judge, Beth A. Livingston, Charlice Hurst. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2011)
- Women Don’t Ask? Negotiation and the Gender Divide (Linda Babcock, Carnegie Mellon 2011)
- The Myth of the Ideal Worker: Does Doing All The Right Things Really Get Women Ahead? (Nancy M. Carter and Christine Silva, Catalyst 2011)
- The New Path To The C-Suite (Boris Groysberg, L. Kevin Kelley, and Bryan McDonald, The Harvard Business Review 2011)
- The Old Boy Network: Gender Di fferences in the Impact of Social Networks on Remuneration in Top Executive Jobs (Marie LaLanne and Paul Seabright, Economist/Tolouse School of Economics 2011)
- Mentoring: Necessary But Insufficient For Advancement (Nancy M Carter Phd and Christine Silva, Catalyst 2010)
- Why Men Still Get More Promotions Than Women (Harvard Business Review, September 2010, Ibarra, Carter, Silva)
How Are Gender Trends Changing?
The gender research index studies in this section measure what large populations are doing and thinking, liking and disliking. They provide insights on how women and men are living their lives and the role that business plays. They also provide opinion data that provides insight into why we are thinking and doing certain things. This section provides particularly interesting insights into issues affecting work-life balance.
- Women Are Out-Earning Men In Certain Cities (Pew, 2022)
- Compilation of Diversity & Inclusion “Business Case” Research Data (Medium, Michelle Kim, 2018)
- Women Get Less Credit Collaborating In Teams vs. Working Alone (NYTimes/Harvard University, 2016)
- Pay Gap Persists, Despite Anomalies (Washington Post, 2015)
- Profile of a Centered Leader (Joanna Barsh, Johanne Lavoie, McKinsey 2014)
- Equal Pay Still A Stretch Goal (National Women’s Law Center, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Pew Research, 2012-13
- What Women Want in Their Leaders (Harvard Business Review, 2012, Vongalis-Macrow, Gallant)
- Career vs. Paycheck: The Working Mother Report (Working Mother Media 2012)
- Behind Every Great Woman (Bloomburg BusinessWeek 2012)
- Calling All White Men: Can Training Help Create Inclusive Workplaces? (Catalyst, 2012)
- When Performance Trumps Gender Bias: Joint versus Separate Evaluation (Harvard Business School, Bohnet, Van Green, Bazerman, 2012)
- Reinvent Opportunity: Looking Through a New Lens (Accenture 2011)
- Do Women Have What It Takes? (Northwestern University, 2011)
- Recession and It’s Aftermath Create More Mr. Moms (Wall Street Journal, 2011)
- Break Your Own Rules: How to Change the Patterns of Thinking that Block Women’s Paths to Power (Jill Flynn, Kathryn Heath, Mary Davis Holts. Flynn Heath Holt Leadership 2011)
- Women’s Ambition: A Surprising Report (Lesley Jane Seymour, MORE and Polling Company/Women Trend 2011)
- Five Myths about women in combat (Washington Post, 2011, Blair)
- The “Daughter Effect” Helps Ease Gender Pay Gap When Male CEOs Have Girls (Columbia Business School, 2011, Ross, Dahl, Deszo)
- Why We Need To Engage Men in Gender Equality (Catalyst, 2009, Prime, Racusin)
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Are Gender Differences Just Power Differences in Disguise? (Columbia Business School, Galinsky)
This gender research index page includes links to research summaries on and off our website that we believe tell the most important stories. Research is exploding in this area and we make a good faith effort to screen for the most current and most insightful studies. If you know of a study we don’t have–but should–please contact us and let us know.