As any scientist can confirm, the fact that two events repeatedly occur at the same time does not mean that one event causes the other. Trying to explain the link is often the challenge. So it is with the perennial debate over gender diversity in corporate boardrooms. As political pressure to get more women on to boards intensifies, various statistical studies – from McKinsey to Ernst & Young– have suggested that higher female representation is accompanied by better financial and stock market performance. The question is why.
任何一个科学家都可以确认一个事实,两件事同时发生多次,并不代表一件事是导致另一件的原因。试图解释两者的联系往往是种挑战。围绕公司董事会成员性别构成的长期辩论也是如此。随着要求更多女性进入董事会的政治压力加剧,各类统计研究(从麦肯锡到安永会计师事务所)都显示,女性董事比例较高的公司有更好的财务及股市表现。问题是原因何在。