Gender Diversity Index 2021, TU Munich & BCG

“Now don’t come with a woman in my old age. We already tried that, she was petulant and messed up the whole team.” The experienced and troubled plant manager would have just smiled wearily at the results of the Gender Diversity Index. His experience was different.

Now the constellation he mentioned was not a diverse team either.

Rather, it’s about a pitiful female colleague who was thrown alone and unprepared into an all-male production team. And who had great ideas, but only fell on deaf ears. And at some point she left again.

Diverse teams, however, are actually more innovative because they bring different perspectives, experiences and expertise. When people from different backgrounds work together, they offer a broader range of insights and problem-solving approaches.

This diversity encourages a deeper examination of challenges and leads to more creative and effective solutions. The mix of viewpoints promotes a healthy culture of discussion and encourages unconventional thinking, which ultimately drives innovation by challenging assumptions and promoting a more comprehensive understanding of problems.

That’s old news. Nevertheless, the composition of the production teams has remained almost unchanged in recent years.

The Gender Diversity Index from the Technical University of Munich and the Boston Consulting Group shows why this is particularly devastating today. In 2021, for the first time, they examined the connection between gender diversity in companies and their financial and sustainability performance. They evaluated companies based on gender diversity in their management teams and correlated this with economic success and sustainability measures.

The results suggested that greater gender diversity in leadership positions often leads to better financial performance and sustainable business practices. Companies with more women in leadership positions tend to have higher financial returns, innovation and better risk management strategies.

In addition, they often focus more on sustainability initiatives and environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors.

The study highlights the importance of gender diversity not only as a matter of social justice, but also as a strategic advantage that contributes to better decision-making, innovation and long-term business sustainability.

But why is the quota still so low, especially in production?

I talked about this with Jon Stanley from One Point Four Degrees in his podcast episode “Improving By Degrees: The Diverse Advantage”. spoken.

The podcast on YouTube

and at Spotify.

Have fun watching or listening!