May the Women be with You

This issue features nearly 70 women in the tech industries. This

list is incomplete. But its still much longer than in past years.

This reflects the improving ratio of women in the tech

workplace. Yet, still, few women reach top positions. Even if we add a margin,

and count 200 top women managers in the top 1,000 tech companies, thats 5%.

ILO data shows that women make up over 40% of the 3 billion

global workforce, but less than 20% of managerial positions.

Fewer than 10% of the worlds top 300 companies board

members are women. Few major companies have female chairs or CEOs. Women make up

8.5% of 4,600 European boardroom seats. In the USA, they head just nine of the

Fortune 500, and make up less than a tenth of their line managers.

From the news coverage of women CEOs, youd think times have

changed. But, well, its still headline news when women make it, whether Indra

Nooyi or Sunita Williams. Globally, women have had media visibility beyond their

position, from Carly Fiorina to Carol Bartz to Anne Mulcahy. Thats good, but

it does mean that a woman making it to the top remains big news.

Things are improvingslowly. While Saudi Arabia is mulling

allowing women to drive, in the UK, women make up 23% of nearly 4 mn company

directors (though mostly among SMEs, and in health, social work and education);

86% of UK boards have at least one woman.

Norway mandates its boardrooms to have over 40% women. Do we

need to do the same?

Well, no, Id say that free market principles apply.

Women-friendly companies open wider a key talent pool.

Lets start at the top: the board. The US National Association

for Female Executives lists the Top 30 companies for executive women (IBM is the

only tech company in its top 10 list this year). The filter: two women on the

board; and then it counts the number of women in senior positions, and policies

that support their advancement. When it looked at the top five earners in each

company in the top 30, it found that 19% were women, compared to 5% across the

Fortune 500.

Thats not all. According to a four-year study by New-York

based consultancy Catalyst, Fortune 500 companies with the most women board

directors outperformed those with the leastby 53% for return on equity, and

66% for return on invested capital.

I dont agree with quotas. But there seems to be little

progress made without proactive policies and affirmative action. Even with the

evidence: that company financials are better with two or three women on the

board. And that well-managed diversity means better results.

Prasanto K Roy



pkr@cybermedia.co.in