TO THE EDITOR: When women reach critical mass in organizational leadership positions, things change. Women are more likely to notice and challenge sexism than male leaders. Indeed, research indicates that when an organization consists of greater than 30–35% women in leadership roles, they are able to change organizational culture. As a Harvard Business Review article noted, “Male-dominated management teams have been found to tolerate, sanction, or even expect sexualized treatment of workers,” and organizations with a high number of women in leadership positions tend to be organizations in which sexual harassment is less likely to occur. Further, a 2018 report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) “Sexual Harassment of Women: Climate, Culture, and Consequences in Academic Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine” documents systemic harassment of women in Academia, with particular problems in medicine. Conversely, productivity in the workplace increases with gender diversity. Companies with more women on their boards outperform those with few or no women. A 2016 McKinsey & Company report found that gender-diverse organizations in Canada, Latin America, the United Kingdom, and the United States outperform those with less gender diversity, and companies with ethnic and racial diversity are even more successful… (read full letter here)
