The three largest economies in the world do not have a national
strategy that gives women wider access to leadership roles that could help them
contribute more economically, an advocate for gender equality has said.
"The US, China and Japan, the three largest economies in the world, do not have a national strategy to improve women's access to leadership roles -- whether from government or in business,” president of the Global Summit of Women, Irene Natividad, said in a panel discussion on Thursday (Sept. 17).
"All three major APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) economies have the lowest rate of change in the percentage of women holding board appointments."
Natividad said that although these major economies do not have major strategies to give women wider opportunities, 22 countries have produced laws on quotas for women on corporate boards.
Norway has propelled this initiative, and in two years, it has allotted 40 percent of board seats to women, she said.
In France, 32.3 percent of board seats are held by women, up from 7.2 percent in 2004, while in the US, the figure has risen from 13.6 percent to 19.2 percent, a very slow growth for a country that is based on equal opportunity, Natividad noted.
Among APEC economies, she said, Malaysia is the only economy to have a target of 30 percent of board seats allocated for women, and this was announced by its prime minister.
Malaysia has already doubled the number of women sitting on boards, from 6 percent or 7 percent, to about 12 percent at present.
Natividad explained that while quotas have improved the status of women in corporate boards, the strategy is sometimes viewed as controversial because it raises questions about the system and leads to the appointment of incompetent and unqualified people to serve in boards.
She further said that aside from crafting laws that favor women, there is a private sector strategy that other countries have adopted in an effort to move gender diversity to corporate boards.
These are principles that are usually put together by a commission or stock exchange by which corporate good governance is to be measured, she said, adding that some 25 countries have included gender diversity in their corporate governance code.
In this strategy, the gold standard is Australia, Natividad said, noting that the Australian Stock Exchange has made gender diversity on board a listing requirement.
This means that annually, all member companies must report on the percentage of women on their respective boards, in senior management, and in the general workforce.
Companies are also required to report on how to improve those numbers and this kind of transparency in reporting has created a competition among companies, she said.
"Quotas are working, gender diversity codes are also working, what is not working is doing nothing," Natividad said.
"The US, China and Japan, the three largest economies in the world, do not have a national strategy to improve women's access to leadership roles -- whether from government or in business,” president of the Global Summit of Women, Irene Natividad, said in a panel discussion on Thursday (Sept. 17).
"All three major APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) economies have the lowest rate of change in the percentage of women holding board appointments."
Natividad said that although these major economies do not have major strategies to give women wider opportunities, 22 countries have produced laws on quotas for women on corporate boards.
Norway has propelled this initiative, and in two years, it has allotted 40 percent of board seats to women, she said.
In France, 32.3 percent of board seats are held by women, up from 7.2 percent in 2004, while in the US, the figure has risen from 13.6 percent to 19.2 percent, a very slow growth for a country that is based on equal opportunity, Natividad noted.
Among APEC economies, she said, Malaysia is the only economy to have a target of 30 percent of board seats allocated for women, and this was announced by its prime minister.
Malaysia has already doubled the number of women sitting on boards, from 6 percent or 7 percent, to about 12 percent at present.
Natividad explained that while quotas have improved the status of women in corporate boards, the strategy is sometimes viewed as controversial because it raises questions about the system and leads to the appointment of incompetent and unqualified people to serve in boards.
She further said that aside from crafting laws that favor women, there is a private sector strategy that other countries have adopted in an effort to move gender diversity to corporate boards.
These are principles that are usually put together by a commission or stock exchange by which corporate good governance is to be measured, she said, adding that some 25 countries have included gender diversity in their corporate governance code.
In this strategy, the gold standard is Australia, Natividad said, noting that the Australian Stock Exchange has made gender diversity on board a listing requirement.
This means that annually, all member companies must report on the percentage of women on their respective boards, in senior management, and in the general workforce.
Companies are also required to report on how to improve those numbers and this kind of transparency in reporting has created a competition among companies, she said.
"Quotas are working, gender diversity codes are also working, what is not working is doing nothing," Natividad said.
Aside from these initiatives, women must accept responsibilities,
she noted.
"We should not wait for the call for leadership but rather we must grab opportunities as they arise. We have to take risks. We cannot just whine and say 'whoa'. We must look at the barriers we are facing," she said.
"We cannot look at the government or business to solve all of our economic problems."
Natividad acknowledged the bleak global picture on women taking leadership roles, as only 5.4 percent of chief executive officers (CEOs) in the world’s 500 largest companies are women -- or 27 women out of 500.
In Western Europe, only two women are CEOs of blue chip companies, and in Brazil, there is none.
On what governments, companies and women’s organizations need to do in the future to accelerate women’s leadership role in APEC member economies, Natividad said women must be viewed as assets in economic development.
"First, we must stop seeing women as economically vulnerable and instead, we must see them as economically valuable. That change is critical to our making progress," she noted. (PNA/PCOO News Release)
"We should not wait for the call for leadership but rather we must grab opportunities as they arise. We have to take risks. We cannot just whine and say 'whoa'. We must look at the barriers we are facing," she said.
"We cannot look at the government or business to solve all of our economic problems."
Natividad acknowledged the bleak global picture on women taking leadership roles, as only 5.4 percent of chief executive officers (CEOs) in the world’s 500 largest companies are women -- or 27 women out of 500.
In Western Europe, only two women are CEOs of blue chip companies, and in Brazil, there is none.
On what governments, companies and women’s organizations need to do in the future to accelerate women’s leadership role in APEC member economies, Natividad said women must be viewed as assets in economic development.
"First, we must stop seeing women as economically vulnerable and instead, we must see them as economically valuable. That change is critical to our making progress," she noted. (PNA/PCOO News Release)
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