Women occupy only 20 percent of board seats in companies listed in G20 Stocks Exchanges
A new survey report has lifted the lid on the low number of women on boards in listed companies in the G20 stock exchanges.
According to the latest policy brief by Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE), women hold on average 20.2 percent of board seats in the top 100 companies listed on major G20 stock exchanges.
The policy brief provides an analysis of gender equality on the boards of the top 100 issuers by market capitalisation on each of the G20’s major stock exchanges.
The data provides exchanges with the state of gender equality in the top positions in companies listed on their markets.
Euronext Paris is ranked first among G20 stock exchanges with women holding 44.3 percent of the board seats of the top 100 listed companies.
JSE (South Africa) is the only stock exchange from a developing country ranked above the G20 average in terms of female representation on the boards of issuers.
Shenzhen Stock Exchange from China is the highest ranked Asian exchange, with 17.3 percent of board members being women.It is closely followed by the Indian exchanges BSE and NSE, who have a 16.8 percent representation of women on boards.
Brazil’s B3 exchange is ranked first among South American stock exchanges, with 12.1 percent of their issuers’ boards’ seats being held by women.
In North American exchanges, NYSE and TSX hold the sixth and seventh position with 30.4 percent and 30.2 percent of board seats being held by women.
The second US exchange, Nasdaq, is ranked ninth with 27.8 percent of board members being held by women, just above the G20 average.
Six out of 22 markets have rules requiring a mandatory minimum number of women on corporate boards, with France setting the highest level at 40 percent.
When it comes to board chair positions, women hold only 5.5 percent of those positions in G20 markets.The Australian Stock Exchange has the most companies with female board chairs at 14 among its top 100 companies.
It is followed by Borsa Italiana with 13 and JSE with 11 women board chairpersons. Euronext Paris, while having the highest proportion of women on boards, has only two companies with female chairs among the top 100 listed companies.
NYSE and TSX stock exchanges in North America have nine companies with female board chairs, while only 3 of the top 100 companies listed on NASDAQ are chaired by a woman.
Among South American stock exchanges, Brazil’s B3 exchange has the most top 100 companies with female chairs with the number standing at five.
Among the three Chinese stock exchanges, HKEX leads with seven female chairs followed by Shenzhen Stock Exchange with five and Shanghai Stock Exchange with three female board chairs among their top 100 issuers.
Women hold 5.5 percent of CEO positions within companies listed on G20 stock exchanges.
Shenzhen Stock Exchange has the highest number of female CEOs with 11 companies being led by women among the top 100 issuers.
Two markets have no female CEOs among the top 100 companies and a further four markets have only one female CEO among the top 100
Gender equality is one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agreed to by UN member States.
Stock exchanges and other capital market stakeholders can play an important role in promoting gender equality.
Details emerged last year indicating Kenya has outperformed the global average of female board directors after witnessing significant progress in board diversity and inclusion in the last nine years.
According to the 2021 Board Diversity and Inclusion Survey released last year, Kenya’s gender diversity in the boardroom now stands at 36 per cent, a significant progress from 21 per cent in 2017.
Currently, the global average of women holding board positions stands at 23.3 per cent up from 20.4 per cent in 2018.
The report undertaken by the Kenya Institute of Management (KIM) in partnership with Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), New Faces New Voices (NFNV) and the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (Kepsa) observes that women constitute 21 per cent of the appointed board chairpersons, while the global average is three per cent.
Female representation in C-suite roles in Kenya constitutes 37 per cent compared to 21 per cent globally, with the average age of Kenyan board members now standing at 47.6 years down from 55.8 years in 2017.
A 2015 report by the Africa Development Bank showed that Kenya had the highest percentage of women on boards in Africa at 19.8 per cent, followed by Ghana (17.7 per cent) and South Africa (17.4 per cent).
The 2017 Board Diversity and Inclusion Survey by the KIM and the NSE placed the number at 21 per cent up from 12 per cent in 2012.
The Kenya Private Sector Alliance (Kepsa) early this year revealed it will soon require its members to adopt policies that enhance gender inclusivity in the workplace.
The organisation has come up with the Private Sector Gender Mainstreaming policy that will guide organisations on gender equality.
Companies that are Kepsa members, will be tasked to embrace stand-alone gender responsive policies to ensure systematic implementation including well-established targets and means of measurements.
The Women Corporate Directors’ (WCD)-Kenya Chapter last year also announced they had embarked on an initiative to increase the numbers of women on various boards in the country.
The initiative will see WCD-Kenya engage local and international corporates to secure the placement of qualified Kenyan women on the various boards.
WCD-Kenya chairperson Rose Mambo said the organisation is establishing a database of all qualified women who will be linked for board positions locally and internationally when opportunities arise.
