Is there a business case for diversity? My gosh, it’s overwhelming. I know you’ve heard the opposite. Supposedly, the business case for diversity is weak at best. It’s mainly “wishful thinking” and difficult to understand. There’s just one problem with what you’ve heard. In clear, convincing and unequivocal numbers, the data shows the reverse.
HAVING WOMEN AT THE TOP PAYS
A number of recent business studies, including a research report in Catalyst Inc. in 2011 by Nancy M. Carter and Harvey M. Wagner titled “The Bottom Line: Corporate Performance and Women’s Representation on Boards (2004-2008),” looked at the financial returns of companies with three or more women on the board. The numbers are astounding. Companies with three or more women on the board outperform all-male-board-member companies by 60 percent in return on invested capital, 84 percent in return on sales and 60 percent in return on equity.
