Business Bureau :
Ranked 23rd globally, India’s women representation on boards is currently at 15.2 per cent, which is significantly below the global average of 20.6 per cent
EVEN as there is a policy focus women representation in the boardroom, India is way behind and holds the third-lowest spot in the AC region, according to a report. Ranked 23rd globally, India’s women representation on boards is currently at 15.2 per cent, which is significantly below the global average of 20.6 per cent, according to the Credit Suisse Research Institute (CSRI) third CS Gender 3000 report, ‘The CS Gender 3000 in 2019:
The changing face of companies’. France (44.4 per cent), Norway (40.9 per cent), Belgium (35.9 per cent) hold the top three positions globally. Asia Pacific (excluding Japan) has seen a small upward trend in gender diversity in the boardroom, rising to 14.4 per cent in 2019 from 11.6 per cent in 2015, the report said. However, the country-by-country range is considerable, stretching from 3.1 per cent in South Korea to nearly 30 per cent in Vietnam and Australia/New Zealand, it added.
Three AC countries South Korea (3.1 per cent), Pakistan (5.5 per cent) and Japan (5.7 per cent) occupied the last three positions globally. The countries that have seen the biggest proportional increase in boardroom diversity in the last five years between 9.4 and 12.8 percentage points are Malaysia, France, Australia, Germany and Austria, it said. Meanwhile, the proportion of women in management has risen to 17.6 per cent from 13.8 per cent in 2016. Regionally, the US (21 per cent) and AC (19 per cent) reflect greater management diversity than witnessed in Europe (17 per cent) despite the policy focus on boardroom quotas in many European countries.
The US and AC have seen women in management increase more organically. India saw a slight improvement in women representation in the senior management of 1.6 percentage points over the past three years, rising from 6.9 per cent in 2016 to 8.5 per cent in 2019, it said. However, the country holds the third-lowest spot in APAC, ahead of South Korea (4 per cent) and Japan (3 per cent), it added. Similarly, the report further stated that India has been the third lowest country inAC with regard to women CEO representation (2 per cent), as well as the second-lowest rank for women CFO representation (1 per cent). With 15 per cent, Singapore and Italy rank the highest in terms of women CEO representation globally, followed by Thailand (9 per cent) and the Philippines (8 per cent).