Impact of Women CEOs on Corporate Performance

Research Paper

Instructions

Based on the research question assignment in Week 2, write a research paper on your approved topic. The paper should be between 10-12 pages, not including the cover page, reference list, and any appendices.

Technical Requirements

• Your paper should be 10-12 pages double spaced (the Title and Reference pages do not count towards the minimum limit).
• Scholarly and credible references should be used. At least 6 sources are required and at least 4 of those sources must be peer-reviewed).
• Type in Times New Roman, 12 point and double space.
• Students will follow the current Turabian Style as the sole citation and reference style used in written work submitted as part of coursework.
• Points will be deducted for the use of Wikipedia or encyclopedic type sources. It is highly advised to utilize books, peer-reviewed journals, articles, archived documents, etc.
• All submissions will be graded using the assignment rubric.

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APA

Impact of Women CEOs on Corporate Performance

Introduction

The underrepresentation of women in CEO roles within publicly traded companies remains a persistent challenge, with only 8–10% of Fortune 500 CEOs being female as of recent years. This research paper explores the impact of women CEOs on corporate performance, the implications of their scarcity, and detailed case studies of three prominent women leaders—Mary Barra (General Motors), Emma Walmsley (GlaxoSmithKline), and Safra Catz (Oracle). The analysis challenges the establishment narrative that leadership success is gender-neutral, arguing that systemic barriers and cultural biases shape outcomes more than individual merit alone. By examining profitability, management styles, and responses to challenges, this paper aims to inform strategies for increasing female leadership representation.

The Overall Impact of Women CEOs in Business

Women CEOs contribute significantly to corporate performance, often outperforming their male counterparts in certain metrics. Research indicates that companies with diverse leadership teams, including women CEOs, achieve 15–20% higher profitability due to enhanced decision-making and innovation. This stems from their tendency to prioritize long-term strategies and stakeholder engagement over short-term gains, a trait less emphasized in traditional male-dominated leadership models. However, the impact is not uniform across industries; sectors like technology and healthcare show stronger gains, suggesting contextual factors like market demand and organizational culture play critical roles. The narrative that gender diversity inherently boosts performance is overstated without addressing how structural support enables these outcomes.

The Impact of the Scarcity of Women CEOs in Business

The scarcity of women CEOs reflects deep-rooted systemic issues, including the “broken rung” where women are underrepresented in initial leadership roles, limiting their ascent to the C-suite. This gap reduces diversity of thought, potentially stifling innovation and leaving firms vulnerable to competitive disadvantages. Cultural biases, such as assumptions about women’s commitment due to family responsibilities, further exacerbate the issue. The establishment view often attributes this scarcity to a pipeline problem, but this oversimplifies the role of…