Thailand leads the world with its number of female CEOs; In Thailand, 49% of CEOs are women, which is the highest proportion in the world
March 8, 2013 Leave a comment
Thai female CEOs on top of the world
Published: 8 Mar 2013 at 00.00
- Thailand leads the world with its number of female CEOs, according to Grant Thornton’s International Business Report (IBR).
The new research is being announced globally today on International Women’s Day.
In Thailand, 49% of CEOs are women, which is the highest proportion in the world, the research showed.
Globally, 24% of senior management roles are now filled by women, which is up from 21% last year and 20% in 2011.
China is the only country where women occupy more than half (51%) of senior management roles, while Japan remains at the bottom with 7%.The pioneer economies where economic growth is high have greater diversity in their senior management teams. The Asean and Asia-Pacific regions are ahead of the global average with 32% and 29% female proportions, respectively, but Thailand is even higher at 36%.
The IBR also reveals the proportion of women in senior positions is markedly different across sectors. More than double the number of positions in the global healthcare sector are occupied by women (45%) than in construction or mining (19%).
The most popular position for women is chief financial officer, while chief information officer is the least.
Progress is slower in the Group of Seven (G7) group of developed economies, where economic performance has lagged behind the high-growth economies of Asia and the Far East.
The G7 economies come bottom of the league table, with just 21% of senior roles occupied by women. This compares with 28% in the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) economies, 32% in Southeast Asia and 40% in the Baltic states.
Britain (19%) and the US (20%) are in the bottom eight countries for women in senior management roles.
These economies are also experiencing low levels of growth, with gross domestic product (GDP) in Japan at 1.9%, Britain -0.1% and the US 2.2% last year.
In contrast, top performer China’s GDP growth was 7-8%. The top 10 also features the fast-growing economies of Latvia, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines.
The situation is even starker when looking at boardroom positions. In the G7, just 16% of board members are women compared with 26% in the BRIC economies and 38% in the Baltic states.
The research found women are playing a major role in driving the world’s growth economies, bringing balance to the decision-making process and the smooth running of their companies.