Women In Power: Yes, They Are Different From Men

Male executives may have to swallow their pride when it comes to which of the sexes do a better job at running a company, according to a recent study.

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A report on global businesses called "Women Matter" by McKinsey & Company, suggests that the firms where women are most strongly represented at board or top management levels are also the companies that perform  best in terms of growth and earnings.

The study concludes that "women provide a source of high quality talent in a competitive market and have a positive impact on organizational and financial performance."

"Women bring forward a passion that men may not have," says Leslie Wilkins, CEO of isABelt Ltd., a fashion-accessory firm that sells products in more than 1,000 stores.

"That passion is what enables us to not only start and run a business, but to balance it between home and work," explains Wilkins, who started her company five years ago. "I think that's what makes our business run as well or better than if a man did it."

Jacqueline Corbelli, CEO of the interactive television advertising firm Brightline, says the distinctions between male and female executives couldn't be more obvious.

"Women bring two things to the boardroom that some men do not," says Corbelli, who had a 15-year career in the financial services industry before launching Brightline in 2003.

"Women are good collaborators; we do it naturally," Corbelli says. "Even the most competitive women know how to create and motivate teams. Another thing I see is that working women who are mothers know how to get things done and move on to the next task."

It's not just women who see contrasts in boardrooms.

"I think women are better execs in that they aren't so afraid to speak up," says Bretton Holmes, who head up his own media relations firm in Austin, Texas. "Women tend to shoot more from the hip, I've found, while guys wait sometimes and the opportunity to say something may pass."

As can be expected, there are those who contend any differences between men and women are just style over substance.

"I think it's personalities more than genders that bring something to the power table," says Charley Polachi, a partner and co-founder of the executive search firm Polachi. "Women may be more sensitive to subtleties, but I really don't see all that much of a difference on how they use power."

But just getting a place at the executive table has not been easy for women. While they make up 40 percent of the global workforce, they represent less than 14 percent of the corporate executives at top companies, according to a recent report by the research group, Catalyst.

The report highlights how women lag behind men in career advancement and compensation—trends the study says "imperil the leadership pipeline for women."

In a day and age when it seems like women should have an easier time getting into seats of power, the opposite may be true.

A 2010 report conducted by Mercer says that 71 percent of the all global companies do not have a clearly defined strategy or philosophy for the development of women into leadership roles.