Daughters are the Best CEOs

Image credit to Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels

Would you be surprised to learn that daughters are less likely than sons to become CEOs of family-run businesses? This is a big mistake! 

According to research done from 2004 to 2017 on Swedish family businesses, daughters were 75% less likely to take over their parents' businesses compared to sons. And those who did take over had to wait twice as long. This research was done with owners that had at least one daughter and one son. This could be because of the longstanding social norms around the idea that men are fitter to take over businesses. However, this mistake could end up being quite costly. A year after their daughters took over the business, their firms’ industry return on assets proved to be 2.3 times higher, on average, compared to those run by sons. One reason the researcher gives for this vast contrast in returns is that when going the untraditional route, you remove yourself from traditional ideas. Instead, you look forward to the future and take your company with it. The other reason is that women have to face many more obstacles than men. This prepares them for future challenges and creates adaptability and talent in overcoming them. 

One other interesting statistic I found in the Harvard Business Review magazine (March-April 2023 issue) about daughters taking over family businesses is that if the business had a female CEO, her daughter had equal or slightly higher chances of obtaining the position from their moms. 

So, in conclusion, if you want to make more money, let your daughters become the next CEO, not your sons.