The value of female leadership

34% of managing positions in Spanish companies are held by women. Although there is still a long way to go, this data represents an improvement of four points compared to 2019 and, in fact, places Spain in the top 10 in the world in terms of effective equality between men and women, according to the Women In Business report by the consultancy Grant Thornton.

Several studies point out the direct relationship that exists between those companies that are committed to female talent and leadership with profitability and value creation. According to Marta Campillo, BStartup analyst at Banco Sabadell, companies with a greater presence of women in key positions may perform better in their businesses. These organizations are more visionary and responsive to the pulse of the market.

Women provide many cross-cutting qualities to the corporate culture that boost their organizations’ success. These qualities have to do with creativity, innovation, planning, management, leadership and negotiation.

Furthermore, a Harvard Business Review study reveals that women in managing positions scored higher than their male counterparts in a number of key competencies, such as

Keys that define the so-called “female leadership” style, and that make it something different and unique, could be summarized as:

• Developing a more cooperative and team-work model.
• Designing less hierarchical work structures.
• Combining rational and intuitive thinking.
• Knowing how to listen and have the capacity to understand and feel compassion.
• Being an emotionally intelligent type of leader that allows space for one’s own and others’ emotions.
• Improving the quality of the work environment, thus reducing sick leave due to stress or absenteeism and having a positive impact on the company’s productivity.
• It is an approach that has shaken “human resources”, putting people on the first place, and making the most of diversity as a differential development value.
• Tratarse de un enfoque que da la vuelta a los “recursos humanos”, poniendo en primer lugar a la persona, y rentabilizando la diversidad como valor diferencial de desarrollo.

Lastly, empowering female leadership in the company means to provide the necessary diversity to see the world from a broader perspective, which will better reflect the reality of clients and the problems and opportunities they face.