How many women hold important positions in Latin American companies?
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In Spain, less than 20% of companies have women occupying key positions. In Latin America, the figure is not even a fifth of this
According to the report "Evolution of indicators of good governance of Ibex 35 companies" made by CCOO and Fundación 1 de Mayo, in Spain, the participation of women in IBEX 35 companies reach a percentage of 48%. However, only 20% hold management positions.
Leer en español: ¿Cuántas mujeres ocupan cargos importantes en empresas latinoamericanas?
On the other hand, in Latin America, according to the International Labor Organization, among 1,269 companies that are listed on the stock exchange, only 4.2% women are executive directors, and only 7.2% hold executive positions.
The numbers vary depending on the country. In Argentina, according to the latest report 'Women in Business' conducted by the firm Grant Thornton, 23% of management positions are occupied by women and 58% of companies in this country have at least one woman in their executive group.
In Bolivia, according to World Bank (WB) reports, 22% of all companies in the country have at least one woman in a managerial position, and in Mexico, the number of women in senior management positions is 18% but only 4% work as the company director.
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A notorious absence in large companies
The participation of women in high positions decreases when it comes to large companies. In the last decade companies such as Petrobras, Ecopetrol, and Walmex have had women in executive positions, but despite these advances, the percentage is still quite low.
In the Latin America and the Caribbean region, according to data from the WB, 24% of small firms have a woman in managerial positions, while in medium-sized firms it is 21% and in the large companies, it only reaches 11%. In Chile, for example, according to the Ranking Women in Top Management 2018, drawn up by Comunidad Mujer and Virtus Partners, only 6.4% of the management positions of the IPSA (Selective Stock Price Index) companies are occupied. for women.
The numbers indicate that, although companies have increasingly adopted gender equality policies in recent years, the gap still exists and the process to close it, is slowly advancing. In the last World Report on the Gender Gap of the World Economic Forum, a projection was made in which it is estimated that it will take more than 220 years to eliminate it.
Achieving gender equality at work requires taking measures against the obstacles that make up the glass ceiling, for this purpose global initiatives have been created such as the Global Forum of Companies for Gender Equality, organized by the Chilean Government and the Program of Development of the United Nations (UNDP) in partnership with the International Labor Organization and UN Women.
However, for gender equality to be a reality, the change must start from each member of each company, since the background of this problem goes far beyond the limits of companies and covers issues related to social and cultural norms.
LatinAmerican Post | María Fernanda Barinas Ortiz
Translated from: '¿Cuántas mujeres ocupan cargos importantes en empresas latinoamericanas?'
