“Feminised” management teams have performed considerably better during the financial crisis than those comprised mainly of males, according to a study from global institute SKEMA Business School. Led by Professor Michael Ferrary, the study found that companies with at least a 35% representation of women on their management teams demonstrated markedly superior investment performance between 2007 and 2012.

Ferrary compared the fortunes of companies on the French CAC40 stock index across that five-year period. In that time, the listed firms lost an average 34.70% of their value – but companies above the 35% female management threshold lost just 5.28%.

“Our analysis confirms that investing in companies with feminised management is an investment strategy which is responsible and profitable,” Ferrary said.

His research echoes a 2012 report which found that companies with women on their boards outperformed their all-male rivals by 26% over a period of six years. A key reason provided by one of that report’s authors was that “stocks of companies with women on boards tend to be a little more risk averse and have on average a little less debt”. Another author noted: “diverse corporate boards exercise more diligent oversight … they have better attendance records than homogeneous boards and they invest more effort in auditing when the complexity of the business warrants heightened scrutiny”.

There can be no doubt that the presence of women on boards and in management will limit any natural tendency for all-male groups to exhibit overtly masculine, or risky, behaviour – a restraint that would almost certainly have been rewarded when the bad debts were called in during 2008. In addition, diversity of all kinds would enable multiple viewpoints to be taken onboard – including some that would otherwise have been sidelined – and should facilitate better strategic decision-making.

The evidence stacking up suggests that economic Darwinism should favour more women at management and boardroom level. However, given the persistence of a glass ceiling for women, perhaps there will be further resistance to come. All of these issues should be urgently considered by the government if it wants to keep UK Plc in a competitive condition.