As reported in the Financial Times, a recent study by BlackRock found that companies with more gender-balanced workforces outperformed their less-balanced counterparts by up to 2 percentage points annually between 2013 and 2022. The study examined data from approximately 1,250 major companies in the MSCI World index that reported gender diversity figures.
The research shows that firms in the middle quintile for gender balance achieved an average annual return on assets of 7.7%, while those with the highest share of men had a return of 5.6%, and those with the highest share of women had a return of 6.1%. Particularly notable results were found in companies where gender parity was strongest in revenue-producing, engineering, and high-paying roles. "Human capital is very important to investment performance," said Sandra Lawson, the Managing Director who led the work. "It's a pretty powerful correlation."
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