Women Leaders: Why Diversity, Inclusion, and Development are Material to Your Business

Feb 20, 2013 9:05 AM ET

In honor of International Women's Day the Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship will be hosting a webinar that explores the ways in which companies engage and develop the women leaders in their companies.

For the first time in American history, women make up a greater percentage of the workforce in professional jobs than men, and earn well over half of all University degrees. However, only 3% of the Fortune 500 CEOs are women. Recent research and writing on the topic of women in the workplace seem to suggest that women still face immense challenges in the workplace, and may opt to leave firms rather than languish in stalled careers or face ever-increasing social pressure to be everything to everyone.  

Gender diversity is a critical factor in improving business leadership and decision-making, but it is also essential for the overall financial environmental, governance performance, and long term sustainability of a company. Studies suggest that the presence of women at the top positively affect all areas of business practice and success, and that companies that place explicit emphasis on gender diversity tend to perform better in general. 

So how can you keep qualified, talented women at your company, develop them as leaders, and reap the benefits all around?  

Join us on March 6th at 12 p.m. for a discussion with two member companies; Fidelity & PwC, and find out how they are taking steps to address these important questions and reap the social and business value of women leadership.