Companies with women at the top report more profitably than companies without.
This conclusion is suggested by a study by the Complexity Science Hub Vienna (CSH), in which a connection between women on the board and profitability was examined using Japanese companies.
Michael Seiser
Business correspondent for Austria and Hungary based in Vienna.
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The study - published in the journal International Review of Financial Analysis - is based on data from around 4,000 listed Japanese companies collected between 2004 and 2013.
According to lead author Matthias Raddant, this is one of the largest samples ever analyzed for developed economies.
The analysis shows that companies with at least one female board member performed better in terms of profitability than those without women on the board.
Not only was the connection between economic performance and the proportion of women in management measured, but also the development of a group of female board members and their professional networks over the years.
Low percentage of women in Japanese leadership
Japanese companies differ greatly in terms of leadership from those in German-speaking countries, where there is usually a board of directors and a supervisory board.
Japan has followed the American system since the 1990s.
Therefore, there is a “corporate board” that is responsible for the long-term strategy of the company.
This board often consists of around ten senior employees, it is said.
There are also two or three external people.
Some people are also active on the boards of several companies.
The proportion of women increased somewhat during the observation period.
However, their participation on the boards of the companies surveyed remains low.
"Even in 2022, the proportion of female board members in Japan is only 8 percent." This is far below the proportions in North American and European companies, where women already hold almost a third of board seats.