Credit Suisse published the Gender 3000: Women in Senior Management study in September 2014, citing that companies with higher female representation at the board level or in top management exhibit higher returns on equity, higher valuations and higher dividend payout ratios.
These are key financial measures of how well companies use their resources to generate profits and shareholder value.
The study covered more than 3000 companies, all major sectors, 40 countries and nine years. Credit Suisse sees three main obstacles to achieving greater gender diversity: cultural biases; workplace-related biases; and structural/policy issues.