Boardroom still a strange place for Kenyan women

Kenyan corporates remain closed to recognising the importance of having women in the boardroom, at least if numbers are anything to go by.  Photo | FILE

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.

By BOB KOIGI

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 recognising 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.

CLICK HERE to read the full report in the Business Daily.