CASE STUDY: EVIDENCE-BASED HRM Sodexo Examines the Impact of Gender-balanced Leadership on Performance Rohini Anand, global chief diversity officer at Sodexo, a global food services and facilities management company, collected, analyzed, and shared data showing the value of gender diversity. She conducted a study of the companys 50,000 managers in 80 countries from executive to site management levels to quantify the impact of gender bal-ance in management. Anands findings revealed that gender balance in man-agement significantly related to improved financial perfor-mance, employee engagement, and client retention. She found that teams with a management malefemale ratio of between 40 and 60 percent delivered the consistently best results on both financial and non-financial performance indicators. Specific results of Sodexos internal study found that gender-balanced management entities had: better employee engagement: +4 points higher gross profits: +23 percent stronger brand image: +5 points

Anands study also determined that globally,

56 percent of Sodexos employees currently work in a team with gender-balanced leadership. In Canada, Sodexo reports that 87 percent of its management teams are gender-balanced. One of the action items moving forward, is the cre-ation of gender-balance targets for leaders. For example, Sodexos global CEO, Michel Landel, has set a goal that by 2025 at least 40 percent of Sodexos 1,400 global senior leaders will be women (a total of 560 women leaders). To ensure that goal is reached, 10 percent of senior leaders bonuses are based on their yearly progress toward that goal.

Sodexo Canada recently announced the appointment

of its first female PresidentSuzanne Bergeron. Bergeron had been the vice-president of human resources and is based in Montreal. Sodexo Canada has more than 10,000 employees and has been recognized for five consecutive years as one of Canadas Best Diversity Employers.

Questions 1. What is your reaction to Sodexo's goal that by 2025 at least 40 of senior global leaders will be women? What could go wrong? What must go right