Women: The World’s Most Wasted Asset

In a recent edition of Monday Morning with insurance marketer George Nordhaus, Marilyn Norman, Senior Client Advisor at ResourcePro, discussed the underutilization of women in the global workforce and the positive impact they have on business.

During the fascinating discussion Marilyn shared some facts about historical and current views on women in different cultures around the world. Topics included the traditional roles women play, the significant pay inequality between men and women, and some interesting findings from a study by the University of Georgia and Columbia University:

When compared to men:

  • Women have higher IQs and learn faster
  • Women are far superior at multi-tasking
  • Women are better interviewers
  • Women get a better return on their investments than men: 18% vs. 11%

In addition, Marilyn cites that science has taught us that teams made up of women and men are more creative than single-gender teams – critical in leveraging global opportunities and addressing emerging threats in today’s business environment. “Women must be educated throughout the world to contribute to future solutions,” says Marilyn.

Some of the suggestions Marilyn makes to get more women in the workforce throughout the world include having the G7 leaders financing the education of all female hires by their country’s top 500 employers. She also suggests having CEOs of the top 1000 companies include a bonus component to improve pay inequities between men and women by 50%, identifying and bringing 25% more females on their boards and hiring more females than males at each level of the organization for the next three years. Ultimately, the goal is to set an example of gender blindness and encourage this throughout the organization.

The bottom line: Men and women can achieve more success in business together.

Click here to listen to the mini-webinar yourself.

Marilyn Norman, CPCU, has over 30 years of experience in the insurance industry, and joined ResourcePro in 2010. She is responsible for helping clients drive profitable growth and competitive advantage in their marketplace through optimization of their internal processes.