Increasingly, corporations and politicians are realising the benefits of increased diversity. Diversity makes the business and political world go round. It simply "makes bottom-line business sense", writes Sangeeta Bharadwaj Badal, primary researcher for Gallup’s Entrepreneurship and Job Creation Initiative, commenting on a recent Gallup study, which found that hiring a demographically diverse workforce can improve a company’s financial performance.
Men and women have different viewpoints, ideas, and market insights, which enables better problem-solving, ultimately leading to superior performance.
Despite the overwhelming evidence in its favour, however, gender equality is taking one step forward and two steps back.
A study by tax and assurance company Grant Thornton unearthed distressing results: little progress is being made globally to highlight gender advancement in business leadership. And in SA, only 23% of senior management positions are occupied by women, while just less than 40% of companies have no women at all in leadership positions.
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