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April 16, 2012 - April 20, 2012
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CML Newsletter
Why Gender Diversity Matters
Gender diversity matters in microfinance. WWB champions gender diversity because we believe that diverse perspectives lead to stronger decisions and healthier, more vibrant organizations. Incorporating women’s voices when designing and delivering microfinance products is particularly important when a majority of clients are women. Equally as important, microfinance clients often speak of the inspiration they derive from seeing powerful women leaders in the organizations that serve them. How best to achieve diversity? The answer lies in leadership and technical skill development of individual, high-potential leaders as well as in organizational transformations to ensure that all women and men work in environments where they can perform, excel and lead.
Featured Publication
“Transforming the Landscape of Leadership in Microfinance: Maintaining the Focus on Women” introduces WWB’s new methodology for helping MFIs support gender diversity at all levels of their institution. WWB has expanded its Women’s Leadership Development Program, which works with individuals, to include a tool that focuses on the challenges and opportunities microfinance institutions face in the attraction, retention, and promotion of qualified women staff members - the Organizational Gender Assessment. Now available in English and Spanish.
Catalyst: Gender and Corporate Social Responsibility: It’s A Matter of Sustainability
The benefits of gender-diverse leadership extend beyond short-term financial performance. Companies with both women and men leaders in the boardroom and at the executive table are poised to achieve sustainable big wins for the company and society. New data from Catalyst and researchers from Harvard Business School suggest that gender-inclusive leadership and corporate social responsibility (CSR), examined through the lens of corporate philanthropy, are linked.
Findings in Gender and Corporate Social Responsibility: It’s A Matter of Sustainability include:
- Compared to companies without women executive leaders, companies with gender-inclusive leadership teams contributed, on average, more charitable funds.
- Even after controlling for key factors that might influence total donations, the presence of women leaders in Fortune 500 companies still has a significant, positive effect: more women leaders is correlated with higher levels of philanthropy.
- By keeping gender issues prominent, gender-inclusive leadership likely also affects the quality of CSR initiatives.
When it comes to corporate sustainability, stakeholders should look to a new benchmark to help judge the long-term health of a company: the presence of gender-inclusive leadership, both on the board and in executive leadership teams. Click here to download the full report.