CATALYZING
Genuine Leadership, Innovation and Sustainable Profitability™
Volume 1

Driving The Impact of Diversity on Share Value
Tara Kimbrell Cole

For all women have accomplished, public corporations and institutional investors place any agenda related to women in the social responsibility category. Pushing forward policies that are gender friendly has only been engaged via social responsibility agendas and movements. Yet we women know that women at multiple levels of participation make an equal contribution to that made by men to the value of corporate shares despite the fact that limited research funds to prove this fact have been allocated. Women remain locked in a struggle to achieve equal pay for their equal or sometimes superior contributions.

This ’white paper’ proposes that the value placed on women’s productivity can only be recognized and be given equal value with male productivity - when the issues surrounding gender(1) friendly policies distinctly and directly demonstrate their impact on share value. With a business approach to these issues, success could be achieved. The main thrust of this paper is to make the point (through supporting research) that some women-friendly policies should not be seen through the lens of social responsibility, but instead should be seen as sound business practice because they lead to greater profitability and enhanced shareholder value.

The mission is to drive the adoption of women friendly / gender supportive (1) corporate policies by demonstrating that related issues impact share value.

The primary goals are twofold:

• To increase awareness of and the adoption of these guidelines and benchmarks by corporations in order to achieve an equal wage for women (compared to that paid to men in the same job), whether working in a manufacturing, executive or leadership role in corporations (MNC (2), international, or domestic) that have shares held by the public.
• To drive institutional investors to invest in corporations that have adopted gender friendly policies because of the proven impact on share value.

Tara Kimbrell Cole explores that which is necessary to accomplish this mission and proposes an approach.