It’s International Women’s Day! Can you believe that of the 500 companies in the S&P 500, 94% OF THEM have a male CEO?! Imagine if this was in reverse and 94% of companies were run by women. That would seem shocking, but it is no less shocking than having men run 94%.

If you think that men make better leaders, not only do we disagree, but we have the data to back it up! The 32 companies that have women as CEOs have significantly outperformed the companies run by men. Over the past 10 years, the difference in returns is 384% from female-led companies vs. 261% from male-led companies. A few notable companies with women CEOs are GM, UPS, Citigroup, and CVS.

Not all of these companies had a woman as CEO for all of the last 10 years. BUT, the type of company that would appoint a woman as CEO is more likely to have been forward-thinking even before bringing her on. Also, if you compared these companies to JUST the period when they all had a female CEO, the women-led companies STILL outperform the male-led companies (and the overall market as well!).

Are we saying to buy women-led companies as a way to outperform the market? No, we have no idea what will happen in the future.

We are hopeful that this gender imbalance will change in the near future and all forms of diversity will be prevalent at the highest levels of leadership. The change needs to be accelerated. This post is our small way of shining a spotlight on this issue and trying to help balance the scales a little bit faster.

If you are a woman who is looking to take on a leadership role, GO FOR IT. If you have any doubts, ask yourself if a man would ever have those same doubts. We need more female leaders out there and nothing proves that women are less capable than men.

As always, reminding you to build wealth by following the two PFC rules: 1.) Live below your means and 2.) Invest early and often.‎

-Vivi & Shane

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