Retaining a diverse workforce: the impact of gender-focused human resource management

Demography theory suggests that high gender diversity leads to high turnover. As turnover is costly, we tested the following: a main effect prediction derived from demography theory, and a moderating effect prediction derived from the relational framework. Data on 198 publicly listed organisations were collected through a human resources decision-maker survey and archival databases. The results indicate that higher gender diversity leads to lower turnover in organisations with many gender-focused policies and practices. Findings suggest that organisations can lower their turnover rates by increasing their gender diversity and by implementing gender-focused policies and practices.