It’s well known that women are under-represented in C-suite leadership positions, but some fascinating statistics have recently come to light about how female CEOs and the compensation they attract.

Leah Kinthaert at TechX365 writes, “The Washington Post has reported that ‘the median female CEO made $13.1 million in 2016, compared with $11.4 million for the median male CEO.’ And we should expect to see this trend increasing.”

Why are female CEOs out-earning their male peers?

I spoke to Kinthaert to speculate about factors that might be contributing to this surprising news.

Research has shown that diverse teams achieve superior performance, productivity and innovation. At Sodexo, for example, gender-balanced teams were more engaged, and delivered higher client retention, organic growth, and profit.

And a recent study revealed that when women found tech startups, they build companies that employ twice the number of women as do their male counterparts.

So to understand why women leaders are paid more, connect the dots. Women in top leadership roles can attract a more diverse workforce, which delivers superior business results.”

Read the article, and what five other thought leaders had to say about the factors that might be contributing to this surprising news.