Women's EDGE: workforce gender equality.

• Author: Brown, Elizabeth Nolan
• Position: Citings - Economic Dividends for Gender Equality - Brief article

Supporters of government initiatives aimed at curbing workplace gender inequality tend to have little faith that markets can address the issue. But it makes good business sense to recruit and value women workers, according to a slew of studies linking a good gender balance with good company performance. For instance, a study of Fortune 500 companies from research organization Catalyst found that those with the highest representation of women on their boards of directors performed significantly better than those with the lowest representation of women. Smart companies have increasingly sought to bring in women, and a new global certification program lets them show off those smarts to consumers, investors, and potential employees.

In August, cosmetics maker L'Oreal USA became the first American company to earn the Economic...