A study of Emirati companies found that hiring more women is good for businesses and societies

Focusing on small and medium-sized companies from emerging markets (ESMEs), the researchers found that gender-diverse senior management teams are more likely to deliver value and innovation that contribute to the UN Grand Challenges. The research team analyzed 228 survey responses from ESMEs from the United Arab Emirates.

Professor Taz Rajwani, co-author of the study and Head of the Department of Strategy and International Business at the University of Surrey, said, “We found that companies that value gender diversity by hiring women in certain senior positions were better able to respond to the ever-changing economic environment and make valuable contributions to the nations sustainable development goals.” United”.

“This is further evidence that having women as part of a company’s senior management team is not only the morally right thing to do, but beneficial to the business and wider communities.”

The Grand Challenges focus on ways in which interdisciplinary research can address the goals set out in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Areas of grand challenges include global health, sustainable cities, cultural understanding, human well-being, transformative technology, and justice and equality.

The results are published in Product Innovation Management Journal.