The number of women on the corporate boards at 5,977 companies in 47 countries across the globe has increased by just 0.5% since 2012 and only 1.7% since 2009.
Those statistics come from GMI Ratings’ 2013 Women on Boards Survey as reported by Kimberly Gladman, Director of Research and Risk Analytics at GovernanceMetrics International. Gladman shared the key study results on the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation website.
The survey revealed that just 63% of these 5,977 companies have at least one female director. Only 13% have at least three women directors, which Gladman identifies as the critical mass that research suggests allows women’s leadership styles to “come to the fore.”
Europe is leading the way in increasing the number of women on corporate boards while the United States and Canada are showing slower diversity growth rates. Lagging even further behind are companies in China, India, and Japan (the lowest in the world). Gladman also reports that women hold a higher percentage of corporate board seats in developed markets (11.8% in 2013, up from 11.2% in 2012) than they do in emerging markets (7.4% in 2013 and 2012).
The complete 2013 Women on Boards Survey and the 2012 Women on Boards Survey are both available for download through GMIRatings.
You can follow the link to learn more research and statistics about women on boards here on Women on Business.
Susan Gunelius
Susan Gunelius is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Women on Business. She is a 30-year veteran of the marketing field and has authored a dozen books about marketing, branding, and social media, including the highly popular Ultimate Guide to Email Marketing, 30-Minute Social Media Marketing, Content Marketing for Dummies, Blogging All-in-One for Dummies and Kick-ass Copywriting in 10 Easy Steps. Susan’s marketing-related content can be found on Entrepreneur.com, Forbes.com, MSNBC.com, BusinessWeek.com, and more. Susan is President & CEO of KeySplash Creative, Inc., a marketing communications company. She has worked in corporate marketing roles and through client relationships with AT&T, HSBC, Citibank, Intuit, The New York Times, Cox Communications, and many more large and small companies around the world. Susan also speaks about marketing, branding and social media at events around the world and is frequently interviewed by television, online, radio, and print media organizations about these topics. She holds an MBA in Management and Strategy and a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing and is a Certified Professional Career Coach (CPCC).
Follow Me:
I think its great that the gap is closing but for me its still to big a gap, and I still think one of the major problems is woman lose ground if they chose to have a family and that always seems an unfair sacrifice to have to make but hopefully we see this gap close more in the not too distant future!