Do Technology Firms See Higher Productivity from a Gender-Balanced Workplace?

A quick Google search shows several prominent tech companies such as IBM and Oracle, having women Chief Executive Officers. 

This has typically been unheard of, even as recently as 10 years ago as women have always been relegated to the domestic realm, and have been asked questions like "Can you work while taking care of a household?". 

It has been widely known that men have dominated the workforce in terms of their higher earnings and greater opportunities in landing management positions. Women, on the contrary, have been seen to draw lower wages and have been caught in the glass ceiling trap.

However, as Margaret Meads, a cultural anthropologist who helped inspire people about sexual revolution and gender leadership says: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.” And now, thanks to these people who have challenged the traditional bias, the gender stereotype has improved significantly with data from The World Bank, showing that women made up 53% of the labor force participation rate in 2018.

However, not all countries have kept pace with this. Asian countries, in particular, are still holding onto the traditional ideology of women being relegated to the domestic realm. And so, APAC (largely Asian) economies still feature all-men company boards. Even so, Asia has adapted well to the growing industry of Fintech. 

- According to an article by ValueChampion, an Asia-focused Fintech company making comprehensive research and data analysis, 10 out of 12 Asian countries made it on the list of the best countries for women in Fintech; Singapore ranks second after Australia.

- Based on a global survey paper from the Peterson Institute of International Economics (PIIE) that was answered by more than 20,000 firms from various countries in 2016, one can see that a rise in women taking up corporate roles have been effective in enhancing firm performance.

Recruiters seem to have taken cue and tend to open positions equally to both male and female to help organizations get exposure to skill diversities. Gender-balance hiring not only improves the moral obligations of an organization, but also promotes an example of innovative leadership. In corporate leadership, appointment for both genders opens doors for a company to explore varieties of leadership styles, being said that one leadership style can work to one employee but not to the other. 

Let's take a salesperson as an example. It would help them boost their competitiveness and confidence by a persuasive risk-taker manager but during rough times, a compassionate and compromising leader can help them get through it. These traits could be well-portrayed by each gender respectively but giving a balanced mentoring could make a ripple effect to its subordinates. 

If this practice continues being globally accepted, a diverse workplace can be achieved. And this will, in turn, elevate companies into a more effective and competitive environment.

What do you think?

Puvirasan Pushpanathan is an Associate Director at Datasearch Consulting, a leading executive recruitment firm specializing in the Financial Technology & Data sectors.