Companies with a higher proportion of women in top management may perform better…

“Women Matter” is a study conducted by McKinsey & Company as part of its global partnership with the Women’s Forum for the Economy & Society.

The study suggests that the companies where women are most strongly represented at board or top-management level are also the companies that perform best.

Confirming the existence of the gender gap – most notably in the composition of corporate management bodies – the McKinsey study offers fact-based insights into the importance for companies of fostering the development of women in the business arena, so that a greater number attain positions of high responsibility.

Finally, building on these insights and observations, and highlighting the main barriers to female representation on management bodies, this study seeks to bring the practical debate of how to make the transition from awareness of the situation to the implementation of change.

Are women the future of business? The question is open …

ARTHORS:

Georges Desvaux is a Director of McKinsey & Company. Based in Paris, he worked in our Beijing office from 1999 to 2006. In China, Georges Desvaux advised Chinese state-owned enterprises, designing corporate portfolios, restructuring organisations and processes. In France, he advises companies in the high-technology, transport, and consumer goods industries. He is also an expert in marketing. A member of our global people committee, he leads our talent development in France. He founded McKinsey’s Asia House in Frankfurt, which develops our Asian consultants in Europe.

Georges Desvaux holds degrees from Ecole Centrale de Paris, and an MSc from MIT.

Sandrine Devillard-Hoellinger is a Principal at McKinsey & Company in Paris. She is one of the core leaders of the European Retail practice. Since joining McKinsey in 1993, she has worked in numerous European countries and in Asia. In addition to client work, Sandrine Devillard is co-leader of McKinsey Women in EMEA and sits on the International Advisory Board of the Women’s Forum for the Economy & Society.

She graduated from l’Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales in 1993.

Pascal Baumgarten is an Associate Principal in the Paris office of McKinsey & Company. He works mainly for insurance and social-sector companies on organisation and change management issues. Prior to joining McKinsey in 1998, he worked in investment banking and electronics.

Pascal Baumgarten graduated from l’École des Hautes Études Commerciales.

Download Women Matter

PDF format, 1.1MB, 28Pages. Provided by Women’s Forum for the Economy & Society.

Download Women Matter

PDF format, 1.1MB, 28Pages. Provided by McKinsey Women.

CONTENTS:
Too few women in business: a persistent reality
4 As things stand, change will come only very slowly
4 Known disparities…
4 The difference is even more striking in top management positions and on boards
6 Natural growth in the number of women graduates is insufficient to bring about change

7 A model which remains predominantly male-oriented
7 The “anytime, anywhere” performance model irreconcilable with the women’s double burden
8 Mastering male codes as the only way to rise through the ranks

8 Women’s ambitions restrained by an acute awareness of barriers
8 Difficulty in identifying with success
9 Lower ambitions
9 Opting out: a real and serious reason for the gender gap in top management

Major economic potential
10 More women in business: an imperative for competitiveness
10 A response to the upcoming talent shortage in Europe
10 Women: a growing advantage for companies?
12 More women in control: a corporate performance lever?
12 Women’s positive impact on organisational excellence…
12 … and on financial performance

Women’s path to success: what you need to know
15 The “Big Three-O”: a time for setting aspirations
15 Career plans before family considerations
16 Do women pay a higher price for success?

Reinventing the model?
17 Increasing women’s participation in the workplace: the crucial role of political bodies
19 Pursuing tried and tested initiatives within the workplace
19 Four best practices for achieving gender diversity
19 Create transparency by implementing gender diversity KPIs
20 Implement measures to enhance the work-life balance
2 1 Adapt the human resources management process
2 1 Help women master the dominant codes, nurture their ambition
21 The pivotal role of the CEO

Conclusion
22 Going further?

Visit Women Matter McKinsey Website

McKinsey & Company is an international management consulting firm that helps leading corporations and organisations make distinctive, lasting and substantial improvements in their performance.

Over the past eight decades, the Firm’s primary objective has remained constant: to serve as an organisation’s most trusted external advisor on critical issues facing senior management.

With over 7,500 consultants deployed from some 90 offices in about 50 countries, McKinsey advises companies on strategic, operational, organisational and technological issues. The Firm has extensive experience in all major industry sectors and primary functional areas, as well as in-depth expertise in high-priority areas for today’s business leaders.

McKinsey & Company also helps a diverse range of government institutions, public administrations and non-profit organisations with their management challenges.

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