Gender diversity and organizational culture are critical in achieving strong financial results and a high performing culture, aka “performance magic,” according to new research from PA Consulting Group.

PA Consulting Group analyzed the public reports of 50 U.S. and U.K. companies over a six-year period to reveal that companies with female leaders generated higher total shareholder return. The report illustrates the relationship between financial success and organizational culture success by analyzing employees’ responses to interviews around engagement, behavior and values.

Organizations with “performance magic” also had the greatest percentage of women (50%) on their executive leadership team. Organizations without any women on their leadership team fell within the bottom five positions of both financial and cultural measures.

Julie Redfield, talent management expert at PA Consulting Group, noted that what creates a successful, inclusive organizational culture is not merely having women on the senior executive roster, but rather is integrating those traits that have been typically thought of as “female” – collaboration, listening skills, focus on development, and valuing different opinions.

“The formula for a successful high-performance culture is mission, adaptability, involvement and consistency,” said Redfield. “As the research shows, a high-performance culture is far more likely to exist when there is gender diversity at senior levels and an environment of inclusion.”

Lesley Uren, another talent management expert at PA Consulting Group, concluded, “What we found suggests that organizational culture – something frequently overlooked by other studies – is the key. Our findings show that it’s in companies’ best interests to raise their game when it comes to promoting gender diversity, and the way to start is to set the right culture in place.”