News / Analysis
Women in top roles ‘good for business’
New research from the University of Bristol has claimed that companies with women in prominent board positions could have better corporate social performances, helping to achieve increasingly important social as well as financial targets.
Professor Sheila Ellwood, from the University of Bristol’s Department of Accounting and Finance, studied the influence of women on the boards of directors of National Health Service Foundation Trusts. Her research found having women in the top jobs – chair and chief executive – appears to be effective in helping boards meet the organisation’s social goals.
Professor Ellwood said: “Female presence on boards positively affects the organisation’s corporate social performance. Women are considered more socially oriented than men, which can result in more effective board decision-making, particularly on aspects related to social responsibility.
“This study, carried out in a context where women are well-represented on boards and where a woman often occupies one of the two most influential positions – chair or chief executive – has implications for gender diversity and gender targets on the boards of directors in business and other sectors.”
The findings, highlighted in a PolicyBristol briefing come at a time when there is a focus on increasing the number of women on boards. Last week, leading financial services firms agreed to sign up to a new government Charter, designed to improve gender diversity in senior positions in the sector, following a review by Jayne-Anne Gadhia, the chief executive of Virgin Money.
The Davies Review in 2011 recommended FTSE 350 companies put strategies in place to improve female representation on boards to 25 per cent, however nearly three quarters of the FTSE 100 companies have no female executive directors.
Image – Shutterstock
Read about the business experience of one of Bristol’s female CEOs.
Our top newsletters emailed directly to you
