Back in August, some research was released showing that having women on the board could have a negative effect on the bottom line. The survey of 2000 companies in the USA showed a correlation between firms with more female board members and lower profitability and lower market value.

But a report launched recently is entitled “women improve boardroom effectiveness” - it’s amazing how different research on the same subject can come up with such conflicting results! Boardroom consultancy IDDAS interviewed a fifth of women on boards of FTSE 100 companies to quiz them about their success.

The report’s findings are not too surprising and highlight all the main attributes of successful women that I would expect – that women are good at teamwork, non-confrontational, less ego-driven and so rare at this level that they excel under the spotlight. It also said that characteristics of successful women directors include energy, courage, resilience and social intelligence.

It’s nice to see some more positive research – it seems like we’ve had our fair share of negative PR lately! I think that other qualities it’s important for successful women to have are confidence, political savvy, strong negotiation skills and the ability to network. From your experiences, do you agree? For some top tips on political savvy you can see our white paper - just click here.