Women hold only 5.5% of CEO positions globally – study
Boardroom diversity has increased globally since 2015 but we still have a long way to go towards true gender parity. Women still hold only a quarter of boardroom positions, while female CEOs globally account for just 5.5% of the total, according to a recent study by the Credit Suisse Research Institute (CSRI).
The ‘Gender 3000 in 2021: Broadening the diversity discussion’ report analyses the gender breakdown of 33,000 senior executives from over 3,000 companies across 46 countries. The study underlines the significance that diversity in leadership – not just in the boardroom but also in senior management roles – assumes for corporate performance.
Researchers found that boardroom diversity continues to improve globally with an average of almost 24% female representation in corporate boardrooms. Between 2015 and 2021, the percentage of women on boards has increased by 8.9% and more than doubled if compared with the start of the decade.
Europe and North America sit above the global average, with women making up 34.4% and 28.6% of boards, respectively. At 17.3% and 12.7%, respectively, Asia Pacific excluding Japan (APxJ) and Latin America lag behind.
European countries lead the global average - France tops the table
European countries populate the top rows of the table with France, at 45%, number one. This figure for France chimes well with the expectation of at least 40% female board representation from a policy perspective.
The UK came in at 10th with 35% meeting the prior targets of “The 30% Club” set originally for the FTSE 100 and FTSE 350.
While lower down the league table, researchers also note the marked improvement that has taken place over time in Spain. The 14.3 percentage point increase reflects a more than doubling since 2015.
European companies have operated against a backdrop of greater regulatory as well as shareholder pressure for some time.
According to the report, there are considerable differences within APAC, with female board representation ranging from 33% in Australia/New Zealand – where disclosure requirements and an ESG focus are perhaps more akin to those in Europe and North America – to a lowly 9% in South Korea.
While there are admittedly improvements in all countries, the needle has been moving in a particularly positive manner in Australia/New Zealand, together with Singapore and Malaysia. The progress in the major Asian economies (China, India, Japan and Korea) has been sluggish by comparison, as has been the case in Latin America.
What’s happening in the C-Suite?
The report also evaluates how diversity is reflected in management teams. The average percentage of women in senior management (defined as the number of female executives as a proportion of all executives in the Gender 3000 database) has improved from 17.6% in the 2019 report to 19.9% in 2021.
Europe and North America have the largest share of women in management roles but the divide between these regions and the rest of the world is far less than at the board level. The gap at the management level is only 1 percentage point.
At 6.7%, Europe has the highest percentage of women as CEOs.
The number of female CEOs globally has increased by 27% though they still only account for 5.5% of the total. The number of CFOs who are women has increased by 17% and now account for 16% of all CFO positions globally.
At 6.7%, Europe has the highest percentage of women as CEOs and has also seen the largest increase since 2019. However, the proportion in Asia ex Japan continues to track higher at 6.2%, while that of the USA stands at 5.6%. At the CFO level, women are particularly well represented in APAC ex Japan. Women in the region are approaching a quarter of CFOs, well ahead of Europe and the USA.
Tech companies lag
Looking at the different sectors, financials, health care and materials companies have seen a substantial change in the last six years. However technology companies stand out for their lower representation of women relative to other sectors.
“There seems to us no obvious reason why it should be more difficult for technology companies to match the improvement we have seen in, for example materials and industrials, by way of diversity of supervision whatever the ongoing debate about STEM education for women may be,” researchers say.
“These are both industries where employment would typically be more male dominated, but diversity in the boardroom is in fact above the average for all companies whether male or female dominated in terms of their workforce. Diversity should be a basic aim of supervision and governance whatever the industry.”
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