Issue No. CCXII; September 27, 2013
THIS ISSUE’S HIGHLIGHTS:
I. INDIA, DENMARK, AND CANADA — LATEST COUNTRIES TAKING ACTION TO INCREASE WOMEN CORPORATE DIRECTORS
II. NUMBER OF WOMEN PRESIDENTS AND PRIME MINISTERS REMAINS UNDER 20
III. MEN’S BONUSES DOUBLE WOMEN’S
IV. CALIFORNIA WORKERS FAIL TO USE PAID FAMILY LEAVE
I. INDIA, DENMARK, AND CANADA — LATEST COUNTRIES TAKING ACTION TO INCREASE WOMEN CORPORATE DIRECTORS
The effort to increase women’s access to boards has expanded to other countries. India and Denmark are the latest countries with aggressive legislative mandates to increase the numbers of women on corporate boards, while Canada is considering regulatory initiatives to encourage listed companies to bring more women on board.
India’s Companies Bill of 2013, enacted by Parliament and approved by the President, requires companies to have at least one female director. While this may not seem sufficient to some, the law encompasses several thousand companies which have at least 1 billion Rupees market cap (approximately US $15 million) and is a significant first step. The law should decrease the 60% of companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange that still do not have a single female director. Listed companies will have 1 year to appoint a woman director or face a fine for non-compliance.
Denmark took a different approach in requiring a certain percentage of women directors on its companies’ boards, but left it up to each company to determine the number. The law requires Danish companies to set up and implement targets and policies for women directors, and most important, they must report on these targets each year in their Annual Report. Failure to set a target or to prepare a policy for achieving such a target may result in a fine, though there is no penalty if a company should fail to reach a set target.
India’s and Denmark’s actions increase the number of countries with legislative mandates for gender diversity on boards to 10 for listed companies, joining Norway, Spain, Iceland, France, Belgium, Malaysia, Italy, and the Netherlands. Twelve other countries have quotas for women on the boards for government-owned companies. (For complete listing of quota countries, click tohttp://www.globewomen.org/CWDI/Quota%20Chart%202013.pdf.)
In addition to the legislative quotas, a number of countries have placed gender diversity language within their corporate governance codes Canada is the latest company to consider requiring listed companies to provide disclosure regarding women on boards and in senior management. Under the Ontario Securities Commission’s potential disclosure model, listed companies would annually report their policies regarding female representation on their boards and in senior management and provide statistics on both levels of corporate leadership. The comment period on this proposal ends on September 30.
In addition to this potential action from the Ontario Securities Commission, the Canadian Government has formed an Advisory Committee to provide recommendations on how to accelerate women’s participation on public and private company boards. The Committee, under the leadership of the Minister of Health Rona Ambrose, includes leaders from the public and private sectors. They are intent on moving the needle from the stagnant 15% women’s board representation of its 500 largest companies. (For the full list of countries with gender diversity included in their corporate governance code, visit www.globewomen.com/cwdi/cwdi.htm.
II. NUMBER OF WOMEN PRESIDENTS AND PRIME MINISTERS REMAINS UNDER 20
With the re-election of Angela Merkel as Chancellor of Germany in September and the recent appointment of Aminata Touré as Prime Minister of Senegal, 16 countries around the world now have a female head of state. When Erna Solberg takes office as Prime Minister of Norway in October, that number will rise to 17. Still, only 8.8% of countries worldwide are led by a woman President or Prime Minister.
The number of women in top political posts has changed little over the past decade, despite advances in women’s rights globally in other spheres. There are fewer nations led by women today than there were in 2011, when 20 women were in power worldwide. That year marked the largest number of women leaders at any point in modern history— but still represented a 10.3%. Many nations—including major global players like the United States, China, Russia, and Japan—have never had a woman head of government.
Number of World Nations with a Woman Head of Government from 2004-2013
In recent remarks at the annual meeting of the Clinton Global Foundation in New York, Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton noted recent progress made towards women’s rights and inclusion worldwide. Yet Secretary Clinton also noted that, “It’s time for a full and clear-eyed look at how far we have come, how far we still have to go and what we plan to do together about the unfinished business of the 21st century == the full and equal participation of women.”
Your thoughts on the pursuit of women’s full participation of women in governmental leadership? Join the global discussion on GlobeWomen social media
III. MEN’S BONUSES DOUBLE WOMEN’S
U.K. male executives receive bonuses that are twice the size of those given to their female counterparts, according to a report conducted by the Chartered Management Institute, highlighting yet again the gender pay gap even at the C-suite level. Additionally, the average salaries of men in the UK are 25% larger than the average salaries of women. “Even without taking bonuses into account, the data shows that the gender pay gap increases with each rung of the management ladder,” according to the report.
At the entry level women fare better, earning £989 more than men on average, but by middle-management they receive £1,760 less than men and at director’s level the gap widens to £15,561. Ann Francke, CMI Chief Executive says, ‘Despite genuine efforts to get more women onto boards, it’s disappointing to find that not only has progress stalled, but women are also losing ground at senior levels. Women are the majority of the workforce at entry level but still lose out on top positions and top pay. The time has come to tackle this situation more systemically, ” (Chartered Management Institute, 2013).
The Chartered Management Institute suggests three solutions that will serve to combat the gender pay gap. First, companies should conduct reports on the percentage of men and women in all tiers of positions within the organization, ranging from entry level to senior management annually. Secondly, flexible working opportunities for parental leave should be provided for all employees. Lastly, the sponsorship, mentorship and leadership development of women must be incorporated into the culture of the organization in order to foster greater opportunities for leadership roles for women in the future. (Source: The Guardian, August 20, 2013)
IV. CALIFORNIA WORKERS FAIL TO USE PAID FAMILY LEAVE
California Gov. Gray Davis holds up a paid family leave bill after signing it during a news conference at the University of California-Los Angeles, Monday Sept. 23, 2002, in the Westwood area of Los Angeles. The legislation, the first of its kind in the nation, allows most California workers to take paid leave after the birth or adoption of a child or to care for sick family member. (AP Photo/Lee Celano)
Despite California’s passing a law adding a Paid Family Leave program for state workers in 2002 – the only state in the U.S. to have a paid parental leave policy – workers’ lack of knowledge about the program resulted in few taking advantage of it.A California Field Poll showed that less than 45% of workers were aware of this benefit, so less than 14 % of women and 7% of men had signed up for it.
The report, ‘Leaves that Pay,’ summarizes the reasons why the survey respondents, the few who were aware of the program, opted not to apply for paid family leave: one-third said the wage replacement was insufficient and one-third feared making their employer ‘unhappy.’ Twenty-four percent were ‘afraid of being fired.” What the California clearly demonstrated is that it’s not enough to pass legislation that affects workers’ lives favorably, there must also be a public information campaign that enables to not only take advantage of a critical benefit, but also that their fears may actually be unfounded. (Source, Women’s eNews, September 2, 2013).
Join 1,000 women coming to Paris at the
2014 Global Summit of Women
June 5-7, 2014
REGISTER TODAY AT:
Don’t receive this e-newsletter regularly?
Subscribe by clicking here.
CONTACT US
Global Summit of Women
1100 G St. NW, Ste. 700
Washington, DC 20005 USA
tel: 202-835-3713 / fax: 202-466-6195
email: summit@globewomen.com
