Companies with diverse executive boards outperform peers run by all-male boards according to a new study which covers listed companies in India, the UK and US. Our research estimates the opportunity cost for companies with male-only executive boards (in terms of lower returns on assets) at a staggering US$655 billion in 2014.

Analysis of the return on assets ratio (also known as return on investment) showed that, on average, companies with at least one female executive board member outperformed those with male-only boards in each of the three markets analysed.