I never really thought about gender diversity until. . .

Until recently, I never gave much thought about the fact I was a woman in a male-dominated field. I know, many of you may find this statement surprising. The truth is I never felt I had to overcome any of the barriers that usually stall a woman’s career. I was not afraid to sit at the table and “lean in,” and always felt confident that I could “have it all,” both a professional career and a family life.

In May 2016, however, when I was appointed Chief Executive Officer of ENGIE, making me the only woman to lead one of France’s top 40 companies, it progressively dawned on me. My nomination triggered all sorts of reactions. I received many congratulatory notes from women who saw in my nomination another crack in the glass ceiling. Other people were simply curious, wondering whether my actions would reveal a different, feminine style of leadership. After careful examination, some observers were convinced that they had nailed the essence of the “feminine Leader.” As if we would believe in such generalizations regarding the “masculine Leader!” In any case, this event drew an exceptionally high degree of attention.

It became clear to me that in spite of all the progress accomplished in terms of gender equality, there was still something disquieting about women in leadership positions.

In retrospect, it shouldn’t have come as a surprise.

In the energy industry where I spent most of my career, women hold 13% of C-suite positions and account for only 1% of energy company CEOs.

It’s the case not just in my industry. Overall, women do not make it to leadership positions in business. In 2016, women accounted for just 17% of executive committee members in Western European and U.S. companies. The representation of women on the boards of the world’s 200 largest companies also averages about 17%.

Gender diversity in business as a whole has greater ramifications than the representation of women in management or leadership positions. Young women are under-represented among graduates in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM disciplines). When I was still an undergraduate in physics, we were only four women in a 50-person class. That balance was pretty much the same when my eldest daughter graduated in science.

As a consequence, women hold less than 36% of entry-level jobs in certain STEM-related industries, such as technology or energy.

So when you think of gender diversity there really are two issues at stake: the lack of diversity at every organizational level and the continued lack of diversity in traditionally male-dominated fields.

But why should I care about this issue? Does it have anything to do with the fact that I’m a woman?

The reason I care is that I’m a business leader who is always looking for ways to improve team performance, and a scientist guided by empirical evidence.

What do the facts tell us?

A continuous stream of research has consistently shown that gender balance is critical to economic performance.

McKinsey started publishing its “Women matter” series 10 years ago. Not only did they find that companies that commit to diverse leadership are more successful, but also that closing the global gender gap could deliver $12 trillion to $28 trillion of additional GDP by 2025.

Other research has shown that a better gender mix among board directors and senior executives is linked to higher return on equity, higher valuations, better stock performance and higher dividend payouts (Credit Suisse, 2014).

I could go on and on, but you get the point: the evidence builds a compelling case in favor of gender diversity.

In my opinion, there are at least three reasons why diversity leads to stronger performance.

When a company is recruiting from all demographic groups, it is automatically expanding the pool of talent sources and is more likely to hire the best talent.

Moreover, a diverse company will more closely mirror society, which gives it a competitive edge in understanding the needs of specific groups. For example, a business is handicapped if it overlooks the needs and buying behavior of women, who in Europe account for 70% of all consumer decisions.

Lastly, diversity also fosters critical thinking and innovative solutions. The more people with various backgrounds in a group, the more they will challenge one another and question ideas and solutions that may feel natural, but in reality are rooted in a particular social or cultural background.

I personally experience the benefits of working in a diverse team. ENGIE’s executive committee is composed of five nationalities; 25% of its members are women – which is well above the 13% average representation of women among senior management in the energy industry. I feel that the diversity of perspectives is invaluable for the strategic decisions we make. In such a forum, a strong case has to be made to support one’s ideas because no position is taken for granted. For that reason, we spend more time debating and carefully assessing different alternatives than if we all came from the same background.

If diversity brings so many benefits, don’t we all have a responsibility to foster it?

What can we do to address the two issues I mentioned earlier: lack of diversity in management and leadership positions and lack of diversity in the STEM careers?

As a business, various initiatives can be taken to ensure women are represented at each level of the organization, for example by setting specific targets by which the company’s results are measured. Holding the company accountable in this way sends a strong signal that is likely to speed achieved objectives.

Last year, ENGIE went through a complete reorganization. A key aspect of the process was the appointment of executive management teams for all 24 Business Units. I made it a prerequisite that women fill 30% of the 330 slots. The initial proposition fell short of this goal, so I postponed the final decision. We finally reached the desired target – and no appointment was questioned.

Organizations can implement other measures, such as mentoring programs to support women and their ambitions. The benefits of ENGIE’s mentoring program exceeded all our expectations: after one year, most of the mentored women were given a promotion and the mentors, both men and women, felt they had developed new skills through the relationship.

These solutions only address part of the problem, however. While we were debating the need to introduce quotas to accelerate women’s access to board seats,

We were not paying attention to another rising challenge that is far more critical: the growing gender gap in STEM education and STEM-related fields.

I am distressed that so few women choose to graduate in STEM fields. In 2012, only 14% of young women who entered university in OECD countries chose science-related fields of study. The problem is that according to many forecasts, future job growth will in fact be in STEM-related fields. If this trend continues, women will miss out on extraordinary job opportunities and the global gender gap will only grow wider.

I just spent the last few days in Silicon Valley. In the beating heart of the fourth industrial revolution, I was really thrilled to meet so many passionate young entrepreneurs. After talking to them, I could see why so many young people are dreaming of starting their own businesses or can only picture themselves working in the tech industry.

My only regret is that most women are watching this revolution from the sidelines.

The good news is that we are aware of this issue. Already, with the support of tech giants, some initiatives have been launched to encourage the interest of girls in science or computing. Likewise, programs have been introduced to support female entrepreneurs.

The bad news is that progress is incremental, more could definitely be done to narrow the STEM and entrepreneur gender gap.

As a woman, a scientist and a business leader, I am deeply concerned with this situation and am committed to help young women find ways to fulfill their potential and play an essential part in this exciting new economy.

#IWD2017