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Increasing gender diversity at workplace can boost performance, says a new report by Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA).The report says many barriers still exist to achieving more equal representation of women, and other social groups, in senior management positions. These hurdles include lack of commitment to diversity initiatives around the business, pressure to focus on short-term financial results and lack of investment in mentoring.
The report says CFOs and their finance teams should set challenging targets for diversity - for example 40 per cent of senior roles to be filled by women. They must also analyse financial and other data to establish links between diversity and performance and identify both hard (gender headcounts) and soft (employee satisfaction) diversity measures.
While establishing a business case, CFOs should also incorporate increased shareholder value (through increased sales and a wider customer base) and wider stakeholder value (including employee satisfaction). They should also report internally on diversity targets.
