Companies with greater gender diversity in leadership roles create a more positive experience for all employees

Willis Towers Watson analysis also finds companies with chief diversity officers are viewed as more inclusive by employees

ARLINGTON, Va., Sept. 23, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Companies with greater gender diversity in leadership roles and promotions, and with more women in highly compensated and revenue-producing jobs, generate a more positive experience for all employees throughout their organizations, according to a new analysis by Willis Towers Watson (NASDAQ: WLTW), a leading global advisory, broking and solutions company. Additionally, companies with leadership structures that support diversity, such as having a chief diversity officer, are perceived to be more inclusive by employees.

The analysis links diversity practices with opinions from 1.3 million employees surveyed by Willis Towers Watson at 39 companies included in the 2020 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index (GEI). This is the second year that Willis Towers Watson has conducted this analysis cross-referencing GEI data. The employee attitude data are integrated with Bloomberg data on gender-related programs and practices to examine linkages between gender-diversity policies and employee opinion. The GEI, which overall includes 325 companies, tracks the financial performance of companies that are committed to advancing women in the workplace through disclosure of gender-related data specific to female leadership, pay parity, inclusive culture, sexual harassment policies and pro-women branding.

Among the key findings from the analysis:

• Companies with more women in executive and management roles deliver more positive employee experiences in terms of overall career growth, pay fairness, skill building, confidence in leaders and managerial support. Employees in these companies also express higher engagement and greater likelihood to stay. The advantages are especially apparent when at least one-third of women are in management and one-fifth are in executive ranks. For example, companies with at least one-fifth of women among their executives score 12 percentage points higher than those with fewer women executives on a measure of career growth (73% favorable versus 61% favorable). Likewise, companies with at least one-fifth of women in executive roles score 10 percentage points higher on measures of fair pay (62% versus 52%) and likelihood to stay with the organization (71% versus 61%).