Gender diversity in management: how pay gap and low disclosures mar the alpha factor in Asia

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Synopsis
A study by BofA Global Research has found that companies with a higher proportion of women in management outperformed those with a lower proportion by 26% over a five-year period, on average. However, a large gender pay gap still exists. Besides, Indian companies lag their Asia-Pacific peers when it comes to the proportion of women among employees.

The recent Annual Alpha Female report by BofA Global Research analyses the performance and fundamentals of stocks in the Asia-Pacific region based on key gender diversity metrics, namely the proportion of women in management, the proportion of women on boards, and the proportion of women employees. The report provides some interesting data points for companies in Asia and corporate India on gender diversity in management. The study found that