How gender biases impede business - Statistically, organizations with more gender diversity earn more profits and make better business decisions. Click to know more.

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Narrowing gender pay gap and global GDP -

McKinsey & Company’s Global Institute report found that narrowing the gender gap could add between US$12 and $28 trillion to the global GDP per year.

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Half of the world's population -

Why? In one sense it’s pretty simple. Half of the population are women. That means that an overwhelming proportion of workers in the global economy are at odds in the workplace because of gender bias.

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Unmet potential -

Essentially, the economy, and organizations that make up the economy, are suffering because there would be potential for so much more if there weren’t gender bias.

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Genders are judged differently -

Researchers have found that, in the workplace, women are judged on their performance, and men are judged on their potential to perform in the future.

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Lost opportunity -

Because of this, businesses are missing out on the benefits of good human capital. For example, a man could be chosen for a position over a woman based on their perceived potential, which might never come to fruition.

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Gender and feedback -

Furthermore, women are given less helpful feedback in the workplace in terms of it being useful for advancing their careers.

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Organizations miss out on valuable assets -

It is within a organization’s interest to help employees better themselves to be more valuable to said organization.

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The motherhood bias -

The expectation that women will become mothers and won’t be able to balance home and work life, or that they would somehow be less dedicated to their career than a man, results in fewer women being considered for leadership positions. The odds are often even worse if you're already a mother.

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Lost leaders -

Having good leaders in an organization is everything. Once again, businesses miss out on the potential of women already in their organization by discounting them for leadership positions based on the motherhood bias.

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Companies with women in higher-level positions -

The case for having more women in leadership positions is strong. Companies with more women in higher-level positions reflect the profiles of their employees and customers better.

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Women encouraged to go part-time more often -

Most people are struggling to find a decent work-life balance. However, women are encouraged to take more time off, change roles, and go part-time more than men.

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Careers derailed -

Because of this, women end up doing it more than men. This, in turn, derails their careers, which in turn causes organizations to miss out on potential leaders.

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Imposter syndrome -

Like with most forms of discrimination and abuse, there is potential for the message to be internalized.

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Good potential leaders trapped in mid-level positions -

There is a tendency for women not to reach their potential in organizations because they get stuck in mid-level positions.

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Impeded for taking parental leave -

It’s well documented that many businesses and working cultures punish women professionally for taking parental leave.

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It hurts motivation and dedication -

This is detrimental to the company itself and the woman because everyone takes note of this unfairness. It affects their perception of the company they work for, which can have an influence on their motivation and dedication.

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Innovation and competitive edge -

To survive, a company needs to be competitive and innovative. It’s been proven that companies that are less diverse and gender-balanced are less capable of being competitive and innovative.

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Different perspectives solve problems -

When it comes to problem-solving, it is more efficient to have different minds coming from different perspectives to generate the best possible solution.

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Diversity solves problems -

Diversity offers this. For example, to achieve the massive goal of landing a spaceship on the Moon, the problems that need to be solved are best approached by many different minds, not just 500 mathematicians.

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It makes the pool of thinkers smaller -

This is not to say that how the brain functions is based on gender. It is to say, however, that excluding half the population’s efforts doesn't help.

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With women in leadership positions -

Companies with more women in leadership positions rank higher across various indices that measure organizational cooperation and health.

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Eradicating gender biases -

Because investors and financial players are aware of the benefits of eradicating gender biases within companies, diverse companies tend to be valued higher.

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Inclusive teams make better decisions -

Research shows that inclusive teams make better business decisions 87% of the time.

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Equity pays dividends -

With a decent proportion of women in decision-making positions, companies benefit from returns on equity with higher payout ratios.

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More diversity means more profit -

A study conducted by McKinsey & Company analyzed the profits of 1,000 companies worldwide and found that those companies with more diversity had higher profits. The study also concluded that companies with less diversity in gender and race were 29% less likely to make more profits than competitors.

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Commitment means something -

How committed a company is to fairness and equality has huge implications for how committed employees are.

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More commitment attracts talented individuals -

Companies that are more committed to gender diversity attract more talented individuals.

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Less commitment results in more talented individuals quitting -

Companies that make an effort in terms of diversity are also more likely to retain their staff. This benefits the company because they won’t lose their talented individuals and means that they don’t constantly have to train new individuals.

Sources: (World Economic Forum) (Forbes) (WorldatWork) (McKinsey & Company) 

See also: Balancing work and family life: Strategies for success

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