Just one number to demonstrate this “ girl power ”: out of a sample of 300 businesses worldwide , companies with the most women on their executive committee are 47 % more profitable than companies that don ’ t have any . Better still : according to the OCDE , if the gap separating men and women in the workplace were to diminish , we would see a 12 % growth in the global GDP ! At a time when crises are piling up ( climate , Covid-19 , Ukraine ), this opportunity is not one that should be refused .
But what exactly is it these female managers are bringing to the table ? “ We approach questions of strategy , management , and risk management differently ,” says Rima Ramsaran , for whom companies led by women favour “ participative management ” and “ mutual agreement ”. Above all they possess a “ leadership approach more in tune with new generations ,” notes Xavier Mufraggi , CEO of the Young Presidents ’ Organization ( YPO ), a large international network for young leaders .
For French think-tank Institut Montaigne , things aren ’ t that simple . Attributing distinctive virtues to women ( kindness , listening and collaboration capabilities ) can even constitute “ sexist bias , which often confines women to human resources or communications .” The key ? A higher level of adaptability . “ Archaically , the physical domination of men caused women to adopt specific adaptive behaviours and a simple ethos : to win their place alongside men , they must outperform ,” explain the authors of the note Agir pour la Parité ( Act for Parity ).
One “ outperformer ” explores another avenue : “ If women are able to get things done better than men , it ’ s because they are juggling work , homework , shopping , housework … With five lives in one day , they are high-performing in a company - but doesn ’ t always realise it . Women need to understand that they have a lot to bring to the table . It is male / female complementarity that counts for a company .” A complementarity that is very much under-exploited . Proof that practices are hard as rock and that glass ceilings are often thick . The good news : neither is indestructible .
( 1 ) World Economic Forum ( WEF ), « Global Gender Gap Report », 2021 . ( 2 ) Statistics Mauritius , « Gender Statistics », 2020 . ( 3 ) Week-End , 30 mai 2021 . ( 4 ) McKinsey & Company , « Women Matter - Time to accelerate », 2017 .
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