At the end of the article Adler stressed, "correlation does not prove causality." Of course. Statistically speaking, he's right. Just because companies with more women in the executive ranks are more profitable, it doesn't necessarily mean that those companies are profitable because there are more women in the upper ranks. But it sure got me thinking. What is it about having more women in the top ten, fifteen, or twenty-five leaders of a company that would make that company more profitable?

As a woman, I can confidently say, its simply because women are smart and capable and having them on any executive team will make a difference. Certainly many women are smart and capable, but there are some who are not. And even those that are smart and capable are not necessarily the best "woman" for the job!

There are probably a few key reasons those companies with more women in the upper ranks are more profitable than those with few women in the upper ranks.

1. 1. A company with women executives at the very top is probably pretty progressive and open to taking risks. It's sad that a CEO might see promoting a woman to the top as risky, but its still fairly unusual and, especially from a man's perspective, likely to feel risky. Someday that won't be the case any more. Needless to say, these days, the CEO that's promoting women or hiring in women to the top executive ranks is a risk-taker and open-minded. Those qualities probably contribute greatly to the company's profitability.
2. 2. It's a cliche, but few would disagree: women are better consensus builders than men. Women tend to work well in teams and team dynamics are far more important in business today than they were twenty years ago. Organizations are less hierarchical, less patriarchical, and more dependent on influence than control. Women are typically comfortable in a team environment and accustomed to getting work done through people that don't necessarily report to them. That's a ticket to success in business today, so women are at the front of the line on this one! Those companies with more women at the top are probably dealing with team issues far better than the other companies in the study, which is very likely why they are more profitable.
3. 3. Diversity of a team is likely to lead to diversity in thinking. Those companies with more women at the executive level probably demonstrate more diverse perspectives that better match their customers' and shareholders' perspectives. It makes sense that those companies would be more successful.

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