Men who have daughters are more likely to hire women at senior level, according to new research.
The study, conducted by Harvard University researchers Paul Gompers and Sophie Wang, found that fathers of girls were more likely to hire more women at board level and that those businesses were more likely to make more money.
The research also discovered that companies, where senior partners had more daughters, were more likely to be more gender diverse.
Gompers and Wang studied data from US-based venture capital firms between 1990 and 2016. Within the research, they said, “We find strong evidence that parenting more daughters leads to an increased propensity to hire female partners by venture capital firms.”
“Improved gender diversity, induced by parenting more daughters, improves deal and fund performances.”
Of the 1,400 survey responses, the study concluded that having a daughter increased the likelihood of hiring a female investor by 24 per cent and that these firms saw three per cent more returns on their investments. The study concluded that the “daughter effect” is real.
Supporting this research, Barack Obama and Mark Zuckerberg are prime examples of fathers of daughters who are vocal about women’s rights.
The Facebook founder famously took two months paternity leave while the former US president prominently supported and campaigned for women’s rights while in the White House.
Speaking to The Huffington Post, Paul Gompers, professor at Harvard Business School said, “Subtle debiasing can have real effects.”
“The more exposure we have to others who are different from us, the more we become debiased.”
“Watching their struggles and issues, especially my 25-year-old who is working in a venture backed enterprise software company in New York City has created insights that are certainly dependent upon having daughters.”
