Social dynamics and traditional gender roles have changed substantially in the past five decades, allowing women to move into roles of power and embrace leadership opportunities in both business and politics. But unfortunately, we are still a long way from reaching gender parity. Most people agree that including a greater range of voices at any table is a positive thing, but what most don’t consider is that there are very strong business cases for this as well. In fact, companies with more women in leadership roles tend to make more money, create better products and have more loyal customers, advancing the argument for greater female participation from the softer “a good thing to do” to a financially smart decision.

At HLB, we seek to champion diversity and inclusion whenever and wherever possible. In honour of International Women’s Day, we encourage the HLB global community to embrace the benefits of gender equality and discover that when we #BalanceforBetter, we can build better businesses.

‘’When you’re a CEO, you’re in the unique position to make an impact on the lives of the people in your organisation through the example you set as a leader. I feel that it is my responsibility to be a champion for equality and fair career opportunities for all. Gender equality in particular is not just the right thing to do, it also makes economic and business sense.’’ Marco Donzelli, CEO of HLB

Companies with women in leadership perform better

According to many studies, companies founded by women, and those with women in leadership roles, consistently perform better than those led solely by men. According to a recent study by the Boston Consulting Group, start-ups with female leadership produce a return on investment that is more than twice that of companies without female representation. The dichotomy is that men-only companies are much better at securing investment capital. In fact, they are often given more than twice as much when looking for investment assets. Does this suggest that companies with women in leadership perform twice as well on half as much investment? If that is indeed the case, we can’t think of a better argument for adding more women to positions of power in your companies.

“Women are some of the most valuable untapped resources in most parts of the world. When placed in positions of influence, women bring to the table a unique blend of courage, tenacity, meekness, strength, and clear judgement that embraces positive culture in our societies, transforms and uplifts the standards of doing business as well as best governance practices for corporations and civic bodies. Men and women must collaborate their efforts and build strategic alliances for a common goal and purpose. Indeed, a balance of men and women is better for the world we aspire to see.” Masuzyo Muteto, Principal Director at HLB Zambia

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