Newsletter on workplace equality and gender-lens investment
Kenyan companies have a higher percentage of women CEOs than US and UK
Kenya is ahead of the UK, the US and Canada in terms of the proportion of female CEOs in top companies. Out of the 60 companies analysed, 12% had a female CEO, compared to 6% in the UK’s FTSE 100 and 7% in the US’ Fortune 500.
More positive news is that the proportion of female board members in Kenya has doubled since 2012 to 23%. The top company in the country, Standard Chartered Kenya, scored 63%, a percentage that is measured by Equileap and based on 19 criteria, from the gender pay gap and parental leave to diversity in the supply chain.
“However, this stronger female leadership and commitment to gender equality still needs to be accompanied by greater transparency in areas such as the gender pay gap, which currently goes undisclosed in Kenya,” said Equileap CEO Diana van Maasdijk.
A report published in November by PwC, in partnership with the 30% Club and WPP, emphasises the commercial imperative for putting a gender lens on your business.
Supported by real life examples from top businesses, this report shows how a gender lens can help make a business more profitable and culturally relevant. It also includes practical case studies such as:
HSBC’s commitment to fund more businesswomen and entrepreneurs (female founders in the US raised just 2.2% of capital invested in start-ups in 2018.)
Unilever’s drive to stamp out harmful gender stereotypes (70% of decisions to buy their brands are made by women.)
Women are 10% less likely than men to own a mobile phone in low and middle-income countries - something that Vodafone is addressing.
Country focus: Sweden
According to our latest research, Swedish companies’ average ranking across 19 criteria has risen from 36% in 2018 to 41% in 2019. Among the latest progressive measures is a 2019 law which recognises transgender parents according to their legally recognised gender identity.
Female representation is also high in the country, with 39% of women at board level (despite no quotas). There are also 25% women at executive level, 29% in management and 35% of the workforce - the latter category is the only one to fall short of the global average.
But does progressive policy always lead to actual progress? For example, Sweden has introduced a 10-year plan to combat violence against women in 2017, yet 68% of Swedish companies still do not have an anti-sexual harassment policy.
In the spotlight: Diageo
The drinks company has reached the top spot of 2019 in terms of gender equality with a score of 74%. This ranking follows the announcement of its market-leading shared parental leave policy, where both parents receive 26 weeks’ paid leave no matter where in the world they work.
What else makes Diageo stand out from other companies globally?
It sponsors the Creative Equals ‘Returners’ scheme, which supports women who want to return to work after a career break of 12 months or more.
Diageo has achieved gender balance at executive level (40%), and women represent 37.5% of the board, 34% of senior management and 32% of the workforce.
The company’s median gender pay gap in the UK has shrunk in 2019 from 5.4% to 4%, much lower than the national average of 17.3%. The company has a strategy to close its gap.
“What’s interesting about gender is that’s where data is best right now, so we have a lot more data of understanding where integrating gender-based factors in terms of risk and opportunity matter,” says Jackie VanderBrug, managing director and head of sustainable and impact investing strategy.
There is much room for improvement in the US. Two years after the Harvey Weinstein accusations came to light in the media, almost half - 48% - of US companies still do not have an anti-sexual harassment policy. Furthermore, Bank of America was the only company to make it into the top 10 of Equileap’s latest global ranking.
Although gender parity in education and political representation is on the rise, economic participation and opportunity have regressed. At current rates of change, the global gender pay gap will close in 257 years, according to the World Economic Forum. That's even worse than last year, when the organization estimated it would take 202 years to close the gender pay gap.
Our resolution for 2020? Provide you with even more data on gender equality in companies all over the world. Why? Because you can't change what you can't measure. What's yours?
Do you have news on gender equality or investing with a gender lens? Please email us!
