By Bob Koigi
In Summary
- Only 15 per cent of listed companies, according to the Chartered Institute of Marketing, have crossed the threshold of having 30 per cent women on their boards.
- Currently, only three women are chief executive officers in publicly listed companies: Ada Eze of Total Kenya, Maria Msiska of BOC Kenya Limited and Nasim Devji of Diamond Trust Bank.
The role of women in Kenyan boardrooms is dismally
below global standards, standing at less than 15 per cent of board
positions, even as women contribute 52 per cent of the country’s
economy.
This, even as numerous studies show that companies with a
high proportion of women board members score higher than their peers in
financial performance, innovation and business longevity.
However, Kenyan corporates remain closed to
recognizing the importance of having women in the boardroom, at least if
numbers are anything to go by. Currently, only three women are chief
executive officers in publicly listed companies: Ada Eze of Total Kenya,
Maria Msiska of BOC Kenya Limited and Nasim Devji of Diamond Trust
Bank.
By 2012, Nelius Kariuki, the current board
chairperson of Kenya-Re, was the only woman chair among the 60 companies
listed at the NSE.
A survey conducted by Ipsos Synnovate of this
year’s top 40 under 40 women found that the majority of the women
leaders blamed the lack of transparency about the availability of board
positions, the lack of mentorship, and competition with the entrenched
boys club as the key factors keeping women out of boardrooms.
Some 56 per cent of the women polled also perceive
that Kenya is generally a patriarchal society that predominantly favours
men. As a result, they have to work harder to succeed.
The survey is corroborated by earlier research by
the Kenya Institute of Management that showed women occupy about 12 per
cent of board seats in Nairobi-bourse listed companies, compared to 20
per cent among state-owned firms - despite a provision in the
constitution that requires boards and management of all government
agencies to have 30 per cent women representation.
Another report by a presidential taskforce on
parastatal reforms noted that on average, women make up 27 per cent of
the board members in the state run agencies, with a number of them
having just one or two women on their boards. O
Only 15 per cent of listed companies, according to
the Chartered Institute of Marketing, have crossed the threshold of
having 30 per cent women on their boards.
Globally, countries have endeavoured to end the
gender inequality in the boardrooms through incentives to companies that
recognize women and even quota systems that force companies to
incorporate women into their highest echelons of business.
In 2003, Norway mandated a 40 per cent quota for
female board participation in both public and private companies. And in
Finland legislation was passed that requires companies without women on
their boards to disclose the reasons in their annual reports.
But, while government has been active in pushing
for women representation in boardrooms across the globe, company
shareholders seem reluctant in appreciating the role of women in top
executive positions. Ironically, the shareholders should be the first to
push for more women based on numerous studies on the effect of having
women in top business positions.
Recent research from the Credit Suisse Research
Institute found that companies with more women on their boards
outperform those with fewer or no female directors. Even a single women
director appears to mark out a difference, with Credit Suisse finding
that net income growth over the past six years averaged 14 per cent for
companies with women directors compared to 10 per cent for those with no
female board members.
But, according to a study by catering services firm
Sodexo, which compiled wide-ranging research on diversity at work,
companies where women make up a third of board members made on average
42 per cent more profit, and shareholders received 53 per cent higher
returns than those that headed by male peers.
No comments :
Post a Comment