Companies with diverse boards 'experience better performance'

Businesses that commit to improving boardroom diversity tend to experience a better operational performance than those which do not.

This is the conclusion of analysis carried out by the Credit Suisse Research Institute, following an assessment of the performance of nearly 2,400 companies with and without female board members from 2005 onwards.

It was shown that in like-for-like comparisons, companies with at least one woman on their boards outperformed stocks with no women on the board by 26 per cent over the course of the last six years.

This trend was far more pronounced during the years of the global recession, suggesting that boardroom diversity can play a key role in reducing volatility and variability in business performance.

According to the report, better diversity tends to be indicative of stronger leadership and greater commitment to corporate governance, while it also allows them to access a wider talent pool and range of skills.

Earlier this year, a report from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development showed that women occupied only one in ten board seats among listed companies in member nations as of 2009.