Credit Suisse's bi-annual survey of boardrooms finds that the link between above-average returns and the role of women in senior management roles is stronger than before.

Gender equality in the corporate boardroom makes hard financial sense, with firms promoting more women to decision-making roles achieving higher market returns and superior profits, according to a bi-annual survey by Credit Suisse. And Thailand is the world’s most open corporate culture in terms of promoting women to the top floor.

The CS Gender 3000 report also said it has debunked a number of stereotypes around women in senior corporate roles and is based on evidence drawn from 27,000 senior managers at more than 3,000 companies that are tracked by the bank.

Globally, diversity in the boardroom reached 14.7 per cent at year-end 2015, a 16 per cent increase since 2014 and a 54 per cent increase since 2010.

Having more balanced boardrooms is financially smart, the survey claims. In a 2014 report, Credit Suisse said companies with at least one female director had generated a compound excess return per annum of 3.3 per cent for investors over the previous decade. “We found that companies where women made up at least 15 per cent of senior managers had more than 50 per cent higher profitability than those where female representation was less than 10 per cent.” Latest figures, meanwhile, suggest there is a “strong” correlation between excess compound returns and female representation on boards. “In fact, the excess compound returns have expanded to 3.5 per cent per annum since 2005 compared to companies where the boardroom is entirely male,” it said.

Norway has the highest share of women on boards, at 46.7 per cent at the end of 2015, followed by France (34 per cent); Sweden (33.6 per cent); Italy (30.8 per cent); Finland (29.2 per cent); Denmark (28.5 per cent); Belgium (27.9 per cent); Netherlands (26.2 per cent); UK (22.8 per cent) and Germany (21.1 per cent). In the US, the world’s largest economy, women’s share of boardroom places is 16.6 per cent.

In Switzerland, the figure is 14.6 per cent; Hong Kong is 11.4 per cent and Singapore is 9.9 per cent; China is 9.2 per cent.

In financial services firms worldwide, women account for 16.9 per cent of boardroom roles, while the highest sector for female representation is consumer staples (17.4 per cent).

“Progress toward greater diversity in boardrooms is being achieved with a 16% increase in female representation since our last survey. However, the starting point is a low one and the pattern of improvement uneven. Substantial female representation is still a mark of differentiation rather than the norm,” the survey’s authors said.

“Queen bee” syndrome debunked
The report examines the so-called “Queen Bee” syndrome which argues that women who have made it to senior positions actively seek to exclude other women from promotions into top management. The data disputes this idea, Credit Suisse said, saying that its findings show that female CEOs globally are significantly more likely to surround themselves with other women in senior roles. Female CEOs are 50 per cent more likely than male CEOs to have a female CFO and 55 per cent more likely to have women running business units.