How to Invest in Companies That Place Women in Senior Leadership Roles
A recent study by Korn Ferry International (NYSE: KFY), entitled What Makes Women Different, turned up a number of intriguing facts about gender diversity in corporate America. For example, female CEOs tend to be slightly older than male CEOs because it takes women 30% longer to attain the helm of large corporations than their male counterparts. Here's another kernel: It's no secret that women are underrepresented on corporate boards and in executive suites, but were you aware that there have only been 94 female Fortune 500 CEOs during the entire existence of the Fortune 500?
A relatively new exchange traded fund (ETF) aims to influence the conversation around leadership positions in America's largest corporations. The SPDR SSGA Gender Diversity Index ETF (NYSEMKT: SHE) invests in companies found within the index of the same name. The Gender Diversity Index selects holdings based on ratios of female board members and executives (holding titles of Vice President and above) to total board members and total executives within the 1,000 largest capitalization public corporations in the U.S.
A blog post from the fund's sponsor, State Street Global Advisors, both the ETF's investment directive and its broader social mission:
Source: Fool.com
