Numbers of women in senior management drop across regions

Globally, businesses in Europe are making the most progress in this area, but peers in emerging markets are falling away. This leaves the global average at 21 per cent, barely higher than the 2004 level.
In the global accounting and consulting firm’s 2011 report, Thailand led the rankings with 45 per cent of senior management roles held by women. Figures from this year’s Grant Thornton International Business Report indicate that it has fallen behind Russia (46 per cent), but remains in second place at 39 per cent, level with the Philippines and Botswana.
Around the world, the figures in emerging markets are generally down: Women hold 22 per cent of senior management positions in Latin America, down from 28 per cent in 2009. Similar drops have been recorded in the Asia-Pacific economies (down from 25 per cent in 2009 to 19 per cent now), Southeast Asia (36 per cent in 2009 and 32 per cent now) and the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) economies (30 per cent in 2009 down to 26 per cent in this year’s report).
Despite rising unemployment, the proportion of women in senior management in Europe has continued to rise steadily from 17 per cent in 2004 to 20 per cent in 2009 to 24 per cent currently, catching up with peers in emerging markets. April Mackenzie, global head for governance and public policy at Grant Thornton International, attributed the increase in Europe to governments’ efforts to address the imbalance, which puts businesses under real scrutiny.
“The steady drop-off we are seeing in the emerging markets is a real concern, though. The worry is that we may be reaching the point where women are underrepresented in senior management the world over,” she said.
There are myriad cultural, economic and social barriers preventing women from reaching the top jobs. The drop-off in emerging markets including Thailand could be a sign that as they become richer, families become less financially constrained, and mothers therefore choose to pursue a higher quality of life by opening their own micro-businesses or leaving the workforce altogether.
Another possible explanation is the rapid urbanisation that has gone hand in hand with rapid economic growth, particularly in Asia. Since 1978, China has experienced the largest internal migration in human history, with nearly 160 million people moving from the countryside into cities. The proportion of people living in urban areas passed 50 per cent in 2011, and is projected to hit 55 per cent by 2020. This is putting a huge strain on traditional family models.
At 31 per cent, Thailand has a relatively low level of urbanisation, and data suggest that Bangkok has stopped growing, but the 10 largest cities outside the capital grew by 17 per cent in the period 2007-09.
“Urbanisation presents more opportunities for more people, including women, in many different ways,” Mackenzie said. “But the challenges it places on the family model appear to be having a disproportionately large effect on the ability of women to break the glass ceiling and occupy senior management roles.”
She urged governments and business leaders in emerging markets to start working now to address this decline.
“The last thing we want to see is a race to mediocrity where the proportion of women in senior roles in these countries bottoms out and stagnates for a number of years. Or indeed that these high-growth economies lose talent because women in the burgeoning rising middle classes opt out of the workforce altogether.
“There needs to be a public discussion now about the policies and practices that will enable and encourage women to continue to progress in the workplace.”