The research is in. Recruiting women will help your bottom line, and reduce turnover.

Any quality Human Resources department will do their best to make sure that their company hires women and men equally. In sectors typically dominated by men, more and more businesses are going out of their way to hire women so as to balance out the playing field and create a more inclusive workplace. However, if your organisation isn’t yet sold on the idea of specifically looking to hire more women, here are three reasons why you business would benefit if you did.

1. Earn more revenue

Independent research carried out by The Anita Borg Institute (ABI) found that companies with women in leadership roles tend to be more profitable than male-dominated companies. Specifically, when looking at Fortune 500 companies, they found that businesses with three or more female directors saw an equity increase of at least 53 per cent, a return-on-sales increase of at least 43 per cent and a 66 per cent increased return on invested capital as compared to their male-lead counterparts.

Similar Australian research from the Reiby Institute found that ASX500 companies with women directors delivered significantly higher return on equity (ROE) than those companies without any women on their boards (6.7 per cent higher over a three year period and 8.7 per cent higher over a five year period).

But it’s not just women leaders that help. Having a diverse organisation has proven, in several ways, to deliver benefits to the bottom-line.

So you see, there’s more money to made by hiring women. There are lots of reasons why businesses with female directors increased their profit margins, amongst them an increased market appeal – with more female representation in a company, ideas, products and pitches appeal to more of a female demographic.

2.Work smarter, not harder

Professor Anita Woolley, an economist at Carnegie Mellon carried out research that showed teams with at least one female member had a higher collective IQ than all-male teams. That’s not to say women are more intelligent than men, but rather that including a woman allows a new perspective or way of thinking that benefits the whole team.

3. Reduce staff turnover rates

Lots of research shows that inclusive workplaces have lower staff turnover rates. This means less money spent on recruiting and less disruption to the workflow of your company, all of which enables you to maximise your profit margins. What’s more, inclusive workplaces are more attractive to job hunters. Recruitment will be made easier and you’ll attract a higher calibre of employees, which can contribute towards the success of your business.

Glenda May is a corporate trainer, psychologist and executive coach.