Wednesday, Dec 15, 2010
Gulf News
About 78% of banks in Mena do not have women board members
Dubai: Women represent only 1.5 per cent of boardroom directors in companies across the GCC despite their presence bringing significant financial returns, experts said at a seminar on board diversity yesterday.
About 78 per cent of banks in the Mena region do not have even one woman on board, said Nasser Saidi, Chief Economist of the DIFC Authority.
It goes over and above gender diversity issues, it is an economic matter, said Caroline Fakhoury, managing partner and coach at Praesta Middle East, an executive coaching company.
Companies with women on the board have performed better on stock prices and returns on equity, sales and investment capital, said Saidi, referring to studies in the US.
Women bring a diversity of skills, different perspectives and enriched boards. An all-male board was like an orchestra with only violins, Saidi said.
Part of gender diversity is also bringing more independent non-executive directors on board audit and compensation committees, he said.
The main barrier stopping women from climbing to the C-level of CEOs and CFOs is their lack of representation in economic activity and the labour force, he explained.
Djibouti has the highest rate of womens labour force participation in the Arab world with 62 per cent followed by Algeria at 38 per cent.
Women are also paid less than men for the same occupation with the gender pay-gap reaching 17.5 per cent in the OECD, 37 per cent in Korea and 34 per cent in Japan.
Belgium has the lowest gender pay-gap with under 10 per cent followed by New Zealand, Poland and Denmark.
Many board positions are inherited in family businesses rather than women being chosen on merit, he said.
There is also a lack of education in fields that will allow women to excel in corporate management, Saidi added. We are educating people who are unemployable, he said. We let them [women] finish university then park them at home. Its a waste of economic resources.
As part of efforts to improve gender diversity in companies, Norway has set a 40 per cent quota for women on boards in 2006. By 2008, women filled 38 per cent of those positions.
But quotas only addressed the symptoms, not the cause, said Saidi.
He called for an increase in womens participation in economic activity, their education in employable skills, and for government to provide good maternity leave.
One of the things were missing in the GCC is competent directors, he said. Being hired by a golf buddy or a cousin or by government appointment does not make a good director.
He announced the launch of a joint programme by Hawakmah and Mudara Institute for development of women leaders as they enter boardrooms, and the forming of a network of women entrepreneurs.
By Deena Kamel Yousef, Staff Reporter
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