The U.S. tech industry is notoriously male-dominated. Women hold only 11 percent of executive positions and own just five percent of tech startups. Moreover, the culture of tech companies is not always female-friendly, as evidenced by sexual harassment issues faced by major companies like Google and Uber.
But in an article for Entrepreneur , Lisa Hammond argues that there are many benefits of female leadership in tech that companies are missing out on by not promoting greater gender diversity and inclusion in the industry.
Here are some of her arguments in favor of greater efforts to build gender diversity and inclusion.
Employees are More Incentivized to Advance Their Careers
Hammond cites research showing that women tend to be more engaged with their employees when it comes to employee development and career advancement. That applies to both male and female employees. We would also add that in a traditionally male-dominated industry, female tech employees may be more incentivized to advance their careers after seeing other female leaders in their organization.
Women in Leadership Encourage Greater Collaboration
Hammond points to several studies suggesting female leaders display more open and inclusive behaviors than their male counterparts. Greater collaboration is important in any industry, especially those that require problem solving and creativity.
Leadership Diversity Improves Innovation and Critical Thinking
We've made this point many times in a number of contexts. Bringing together people from diverse backgrounds and with diverse experiences helps expand how we see the world and encourages more creative thinking.
Companies with Strong Female Leadership Outperform Their Competitors
Again, Hammond cites some hard numbers here. Specifically she writes, "MSCI reports organizations with more women on their boards experience higher rates of return on equity, sales, and invested capital, while women-operated, venture-backed companies achieve 12 percent higher revenue than those operated by men.
Related: New Research Shows Link Between Inclusion and CreativityWe've been writing for years about the business case for diversity and inclusion, and the tech industry is no different. Hammond cites a great deal of research in her article, and we encourage those who found this post interesting to take a look at her piece to review the topic in greater detail.
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