High-growth, entrepreneurial-centered companies in Michigan are more likely than publicly traded companies to hire a woman in a key leadership role, according to the Michigan Entrepreneurial Leadership Report by the Inforum Center for Leadership and Ernst & Young LLP.
In fact, the study finds that 61 percent of respondents say they have at least one woman sitting in a C-level or equivalent senior leadership position in their organizations while 87 percent of respondents say they employ at least one woman in a leadership role managing a division or department and immediately reporting to the CEO or most senior position in the company. However, 49 percent of Michigan's top 100 public companies do not employ any female top-level executives.
Another 69 percent of respondents with a board of directors have one woman member at minimum. Among respondents with a board of advisors, 64 percent include at least one woman member while 53 percent of Michigan's top 100 private companies have at least one woman director.
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"This research points to what Ernst & Young already knows to be true: Companies with diversity in its leadership ranks tend to get stronger business results," says Jeff Bergeron, Detroit managing partner of Ernst & Young. "We're proud to work alongside Inforum on this survey and other programs that help women entrepreneurs achieve their potential and drive innovation and growth."
Of the high-growth respondents, the number of women in senior roles on average is nearly double in women-founded companies as opposed to companies founded by men. Still, the amount of women in executive roles among companies founded by men is also much higher than in the largest public companies in Michigan.
Among the leadership roles of respondents that immediately report to the CEO or equivalent senior-level decision maker are in operations and product development at 30 percent, finance at 28 percent, sales at 20 percent, human resources at 16 percent and marketing at 6 percent.
"The results of this first snapshot into the leadership ranks of high-growth and innovative entrepreneurial companies are encouraging," says Terry Barclay, CEO of Inforum and Inforum Center for Leadership. "The study underscores the value of tapping into the full potential of women's leadership at the highest levels of a company to drive economic growth."
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