Women = Money

Looks like Paul Thompson over at AskMen.com was wrong about women in the workplace. Not that any of us ever thought he was right. Women aren't emotional, grudge-holding bitches. They are what companies need if they want to make money.

According to this Time article, Catalyst research group found that Fortune 500 companies with the most women in senior management had, by more than a third, a higher return on equities. Based on research from Cambridge University and the University of Pittsburgh, Time suggests that this is because of the management style of women. "Women manage more cautiously than men do," the article said. "They focus on the long term."

Another reason these companies may be doing so well, women are less competitive. This is a good thing, Time says:

"They're consensus builders, conciliators and collaborators, and they employ what is called a transformational leadership style - heavily engaged, motivational, extremely well suited for the emerging, less hierarchical workplace."

There are two things that really struck me about this article.

The first, apparently there is a looming talent shortage approaching. There will be a six million person gap between the number of college graduates and the number of workers, with college educations, needed to cover the jobs, the article stated. And these days women are receiving a greater share of college degrees. I had no idea there was a looming talent shortage. This may be a pleasant surprise for students who will graduate from college or grad school at the time and have been worried that there will not be jobs for them.

The second, women are changing the work environment to better suit their needs. The are focusing more on results instead of time spent at their desk. The article argues that this focus is a smart business strategy. Best Buy is called out for their ROWE system. ROWE stands for Results-Only Work Environment. Best Buy saw productivity increase up to 40%. I can imagine that in a lot of industries and workplaces, employees would be more productive if they could get to the office an hour or two later and stay later or leave when their work for the day is complete.

It'll be interesting to see how industries change as more and more women take leadership rolls at major companies. Will some women stick to the current work norms? Will others shake it up and let their employees work when they want? And will more women really mean more money?