New Delhi: Gender imbalances continue to prevail in corporate boardrooms across the world, but the situation is much better in our country if the number of women CEOs that India Inc has is any indication--nearly four times more than that of the US--a survey says.
According to a survey by international executive research firm, EMA Partners International, around 11 percent of Indian companies have women CEOs, while in the case of Fortune 500 list from the US, the women CEOs just account for three percent of the total consideration set.
"In the backdrop of the Fortune 500 numbers, the Indian
results certainly look a lot better, though on a standalone
basis, it is clear that barring financial services, other
industries have a log way to catch up," EMA Partners chairman
James Douglas said in the survey.
In India, the survey was carried out among 240 mid and large domestic as well as MNCs. The companies were selected on the basis of revenues and market capitalisation among others. The survey was conducted in November.
Globally, on an average, about three percent of top CEOs are women, which is quite unrepresentative, given the fact that roughly half the population are females and around 50 percent of the staff are also females in most markets.
According to the EMA Partners estimates, over 25 percent of the executives are women in Germany, more than 30 percent in Britain, while this is 35 percent in France.
"There is no doubt that there are many hurdles for a
female to tackle on the way to the top position. However,
there are as many talented females as there are males and we
all need to encourage greater access to the top positions for
female executives," Douglas said.
A sector-wise analysis shows that in India, over half
the women CEOs (54 percent) hail from the banking and
financial services sector, followed by media and life sciences
(11 percent)each. FMCG and consulting have about eight percent each, and four percent each in the manufacturing and
IT/ITES areas.
In contrast, in the Fortune 500 list, FMCG or consumer
durables account for 48 percent share of women CEOs, while
financial services accounts for just seven percent, and for
technology and manufacturing the share is 13 percent.
Banking and financial services sector has seen the
presence of more women on top than any other industry. In
fact, women CEOs in this space amongst private and foreign
banks would almost outnumber men in this sector, it added.
Interestingly, most women CEOs (35 percent) hail from
the promoter families, the survey said, adding if they are
taken out of the equation, the number would drop drastically.
The equation looks a lot better down the hierarchy, but
scaling the ladder continues to be a big challenge for women
across most industries, noted the survey.
To address gender imbalance, some countries insist on
minimum levels of female members on boards. Norway, in 2004,
launched a quota system wherein 40 percent of board members
should be females otherwise the firm could be de-listed. In
2007, Spain too decided to go the same way.
PTI
First Published: Sunday, December 13, 2009, 13:15