CEO Kraft Irene RosenfeldNew figures from the 2011 Grant Thornton’s International Business Report (IBR), which surveys more than 11,000 businesses each year across 39 economies, reveals there may be little to celebrate this year as the proportion of women in senior management globally is back down to 2004 levels.
The main question is why it is better to be called Adam, Bryan, Tony, Tim or Steven then to be a woman if you are competing for a management position. Is there anyone out there that honestly believes that all those men are better qualified and suited to senior management than of all those women that there was to choose from? The choice of not introducing diversity in senior management is much likely contributing to that unilaterally firms are created without ability the to utilize all the skills that exist within the company and on the labor market. Pointing out this is not just about gender equality, but about improving performance and ultimately productivity too.
Industry representatives often complain about politicians tardiness and reluctance when it comes to influencing the conditions for business to grow and to compete in a global market. Meanwhile, the enterprises own ability to take advantage of the diversity and expertise is being well as sluggish as the politicians inability.
A broad set of social and economic forces pushed women into the work force and in the 1960's onward, women flooded into higher education across the board. These measures have however proven to play a minor role as the well-educated women are competing for a management position. Several generations of ambitious women have turned to business, but encountered obstacles when they tried to advance to a higher position.
Recently the European Union threatened to implement mandatory quotas to ensure women can reach the top of the corporate ladder. Quotas have proven to be successful in countries such as Spain and France. To the opposite it is being discussed weather quotas actually do hinder women's progress in business and consequently I am not convinced that quotas are the right method…
In my point of view a company has the right and duty to appoint the board they believe to be best for the company, regardless gender.To realize that a board that consists of a group of only men of similar age and with similar experience probably is not the best should be a minimum requirement for those taking part in the election. The second requirement should be to realize that no one has the right to be a board member and that there is no discrimination to not get elected. Discrimination, however, will take place inside firms. But if companies learn to recruit and develop their staff at all levels this create a wider choice to the important operational records.
Everything is connected, who's CEO is relevant to the management team is formed and the career opportunities in business development for women. In my point of view quotas is not a solution, quotas are more often the problem. Men quote in men, often so similar to themselves as possible.
That's a real nice post! It's interesting to talk about this sensitive topic related to the place of women in business. We are now in the 21th century and we still have issues about gender parity. It's just innaceptable to see so many women struggling to get a job that just goes along with their skills. Men are not better at management or at finance or marketing than women. Skills don't depend on sex gender but more on our abilities, knowledge and personality. When I see some women in France who didn't gave up and reached their dreams by opening their own business, managing a large company and so on I take their example into consideration and it makes me feel that, we , women are able to make things changing and happening.
SvaraRadera