SINGAPORE (Oct 11): Singapore has topped the CEO gender diversity chart globally, according to the latest report from the Credit Suisse Research Institute (CSRI).
The report found that Singapore has the most number of female CEOs, alongside Italy. Both countries topped the list with 15% female CEO representation.
Singapore is ranked fourth globally in terms of female CFO representation, at 28%. The city state is also sixth globally in terms of female representation in management positions.
Furthermore, boardroom diversity has improved noticeably in Singapore. Since 2015, the ratio of women on boards rose 7.6 percentage points from 10.8% in 2015 to 18.4% in 2019.
For the report, titled “The CS Gender 3000 in 2019: The changing face of companies”, CSRI surveyed the gender mix of the executive teams of over 3,000 companies across 56 countries.
Across the rest of Asia Pacific, South Korea, Pakistan and Japan ranked the lowest in terms of women in board positions, at 3.1%, 5.5% and 5.7% respectively.
Unsurprisingly, Europe came out tops in gender diversity in the boardroom at 29.7%, driven by the greatest tailwind of policies and initiatives seeking to address gender diversity within supervisory boards.
The CSRI report also found strong correlations between boardroom diversity and share price outperformance. There was also a coincidence of higher levels of profitability when industries are judged like for like.
When reviewing the relative performance by region, it found that since December 2014, family-owned companies with at least one female executive have outperformed male-only family-owned companies in Asia (excluding Japan) by 160 basis points per annum. In Europe, this outperformance reached 570 basis points per year.
Meanwhile, on a sector-adjusted basis, the report shows the spread between earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) margins between the more diverse versus less diverse companies to be 229 basis points.
Patsy Doerr, Credit Suisse Global Head of Diversity & Inclusion said, “It is heartening to see progress being made in most parts of the world to ensure female progression and promotion in the senior positions of the workplace.”
She added that though the business case for doing so has long been known, studies such as the CS Gender 3000, and Credit Suisses’ continued commitment to this research, means they are able to draw ever-clearer conclusions as to how we can achieve an equitable and inclusive workforce.
“That being said, we are still a long way off achieving workplace parity. This is why we are keen to spotlight the issues that persist globally and be part of the conversations that can impact material change in the direction of better gender representation and better corporate performance,” she added.
