Gender Diversity und Organisationserfolg — Eine kritische Bestandsaufnahme

Abstract

In the context of human resource management in German organizations, diversity management has been established as an indispensible element. The reasons for diversity management are various, ranging from a response to political or normative needs to the expectation of positive economic effects. Against this background, the paper presents empirical results of the current international research on the relationship between gender diversity and organizational performance, including moderators of this relationship. Our analysis reveals that positive economic main effects of gender diversity cannot be confirmed; moreover, only few moderators of the diversity-performance relationship could be identified. Extant research suffers from a lack of consistent theoretical reasoning and methodological heterogeneity; moreover, studies in the German context are particularly rare. The paper provides implications for further research on gender diversity and practical implications for gender diversity management.