Women's share among Singapore senior management hits new peak, but proportion in top job still dismal

Singapore

WOMEN in business in Singapore had much to cheer, but also much to reflect on as they celebrated International Women's Day on Friday.

Globally, Singapore has the biggest slice of women in senior management, but only a few of them - fewer than the rest of the world - have risen to the top-most jobs in the corporate ladder.

And the prospects of more of them making it there looks daunting, according to the latest Women in Business research by Grant Thorn International.

Grant Thornton, a globally recognised professional services network and a leading body of independent assurance, tax and advisory firms, timed the release of its annual study on Friday to coincide with International Women's Day 2019.

The study found that 87 per cent of the businesses polled in Singapore have at least one woman in senior position, up from 75 per cent in 2018. This is on par with the global average of 87 per cent, but below Asean's 94 per cent.

More heartening, women in Singapore comprise one third (33 per cent) of senior management - the highest it has ever been and ahead of Asean's 28 per cent and the global average of 29 per cent.

Grant Thornton said in a statement: "This is aligned with the upward global trend, where the proportion of women in senior management has risen 10 per cent over the last 15 years, with half of the increase achieved over the last year alone."

Yet, when it comes to the top job, gender parity everywhere is still a long way off, with Singapore lagging the farthest. Only 9.0 per cent of the businesses polled in Singapore have a female chief executive or managing director, against 21 per cent in Asean and 15 per cent globally.

"This demonstrates that, while there are increasingly more women getting a seat at the senior leadership table, gender parity in top roles is still a long way off," Grant Thornton said.

"While human resources divisions account for the largest proportion of women in senior management roles in Singapore - 41 per cent of businesses polled in Singapore have a female human resources director - it has yet to translate to more women taking the top job."

The study found that 28 per cent of the businesses in Singapore - and, significantly, the majority (52 per cent) of the female respondents - indicated that they were not taking any action to improve the gender balance. This is higher than the Asean average of 12 per cent and global average of 25 per cent.

Lorraine Parkin, partner and head of tax services at Grant Thornton Singapore, said: "If we want to continue seeing female representation trend upwards in senior positions, more deliberate action needs to be taken."

While Singapore's progressive stance has been championed by organisations such as the Council for Board Diversity and the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices, she said companies could step up to do more.

The study has pinpointed "finding the time alongside core job responsibilities and lack of access to developmental work opportunities" to be the two key barriers preventing women from acquiring the skills and attributes to succeed in leadership roles.

Ms Parkin said: "Policies that address equal opportunity in career development, bias in recruitment and flexible working can't just be nice-to-haves - they must be adhered to, enforced and regularly revisited to assess their effectiveness, and when that is combined with real commitment from senior leadership, you begin creating a truly inclusive culture."

Globally, Grant Thornton seems to be happy with the progress made in closing the gender gap in the corporate world. Francesca Lagerberg, Grant Thornton International's global leader, said: "The global figures are incredibly encouraging and there's a strong indication that gender parity is starting to be taken seriously by businesses."

External factors like increasing organisational transparency, gender pay gap reporting and highly visible public dialogue such as the #MeToo movement appear to be waking up businesses to the change that's needed, she said.