"When women are at the table, the discussion is richer, the decision-making process is better and the organization is stronger," says Joe Keefe, Pax World president. "Companies that embrace gender diversity and women's employment are, in our view, simply better long-term investments."
There is a body of research supporting the belief that companies that are successful in promoting women to the most senior levels of business tend to outperform their peers that do not, says Pax World. A 2007 Catalyst study found those companies with the highest proportion of women on their boards outperformed those with the lowest percentage by 66% on the basis of return on invested capital.