Women make better business leaders than men, finds new report

Women more frequently possess the emotional and social capabilities that result in effective leadership and management than men, a new report has found.Females out-perform men in 11 of 12 key emotional intelligence competencies when it comes to leading others in the workplace, according to a new in-depth study by Korn Ferry Hay Group.

The survey analysed data from 55,000 professionals across 90 countries and all levels of management, collected between 2011-2015, using the Emotional and Social Competency Inventory (ESCI), developed and co-owned by Richard E. Boyatzis, Daniel Goleman and Hay Group.

“The data suggests a strong need for more women in the workforce to take on leadership roles,” says Goleman, co-director of the Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organisations at Rutgers University. “When you factor in the correlation between high emotional intelligence and those leaders who deliver better business results, there is a strong case for gender equity. Organisations must find ways to identify women who score highly on these competencies and empower them.”