Women in business

Last updated

The phrase women in business refers to female businesspeople who hold positions, particularly leadership in the fields of commerce, business, and entrepreneurship. It advocates for their increased participation in business.

Contents

Increased participation of women in business can be important for variation in business development, ideas, and business products. [1] Participation also encourages the development of social networks and supports that have positive repercussions for women and for their social environment. [2]

The status of women in business varies significantly around the world. Sometimes a lack of adequate business capital, female education, and training programs in the use of technology can mean women are more constrained by their social and political environment than men. [3]

The number of female entrepreneurs is increasing around in the country, and the Government generally encouraging this[ where? ]. However, a legacy of historical exclusion and discrimination continues to shape the experiences of women in business today. [4] [5] Women are still underrepresented in many industries and face persistent barriers to advancement and equal pay for equal work. [6] [7] In PNG nowadays, for example, unequal pay (paying women less when they're doing the same work) is illegal. However, reports indicate that 80% of the companies pay the middle-ranked woman less than the middle-ranked man (a phenomenon known as the "median pay gap"). [8]

History

The earliest known well-documented businesswoman is Ancient Sumerian businesswoman Ama-e whom was involved in various trades and real estate investments. [9]

Another one of the earliest-known well-documented businesswoman is an Ancient Assyrian businesswoman of the city of Assur named Ahaha. She is known for pursuing the resolution to an issue of financial fraud committed against her. [10]

Women in corporate leadership

As of February 2023, in the US, women hold 29.2% of senior-level positions in S&P 500 companies, [11] (of which 8.2% are CEO positions). [12] There are approximately 2 women per board; the average S&P 500 board consists of 11 members. This is despite women being 46.8% of the workforce, and controlling more than 50% of personal wealth in the US along with approximately 75% of household spending. [13]

As of 2014, only 1% of executive officers and 4.6% of Fortune 500 CEOs were women. In 2015, women held 17.9% of the board seats in Fortune 1000 companies, evidence of disproportionate gender representation on corporate boards of directors. [14] While the number of women on Fortune 500 corporate boards continues to rise, the average rate of increase is only one-half of one percent per year. [15] One in nine corporations on the Fortune 500 list still do not include any women on their board. [16] [17]

In 2014, Peterson Institute for International Economics surveyed nearly 22,000 companies across the world. They found almost 60% had no female board members. Just over 50% had no female C-suite executives, and fewer than 5% had a female CEO. The results varied across countries: Norway, Latvia, Slovenia, and Bulgaria had at least 20% female representation at senior executive and board level. Japan, however, had only 2% female representation at board level and 2.5% at senior executive level.

The report on their survey, published in 2016, found having more women in overall executive positions correlated to greater profitability at organizations: "Going from having no women in corporate leadership (the CEO, the board, and other C-suite positions) to a 30% female share is associated with a one-percentage-point increase in net margin — which translates to a 15% increase in profitability for a typical firm." [18]

50/50 Women on Boards, established in 2010 to advocate for an increase of female positions at board level and greater board level gender equality, states that as of December 2022 women held 28.4% of the Russell 3000 Index company board seats, with women of color holding only 7% of seats. [19] The 28.4% figure represents a 1.7 percentage-point increase from December 2021. [20]

Catalyst, a US-based non-profit research organization, reported that having a higher percentage of female board directors was positively associated with companies' scores on four of six Corporate Social Performance dimensions: environment, community, customers, and supply chain. [21] Catalyst also found a positive correlation between companies' board diversity and philanthropic giving.

Given the projected talent deficit that will follow the retirement of millions of so-called 'Baby Boomer' managers and executives over the next 20 years, [22] female leaders may be seen by an increasing number of employers as an untapped source of talent, experience and senior-management leadership. [22] However, a 2018 study showed female CEOs are 45% more likely to be fired than their male counterparts, even if they are doing a good job. [23]

A 2015 study of 400 female C-suite executives by Ernst & Young and ESPN found that there was a positive correlation between athletics and corporate success. Over 52% of C-suite executives played competitive sports, compared to 39% of women at lower management levels. [24] [25] of the executives included on Fortune's 2017 list of Most Powerful Women, 65% played competitive sports in high school, college, or both. [26]

Women as entrepreneurs

Share of firms with female top managers by region Share of firms with female top managers, OWID.svg
Share of firms with female top managers by region

In the 59 economies included in the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor research project, [27] female entrepreneurship ranges from just over 1.5% to 45.4% of the adult female population. Although entrepreneurial activity among women is highest in emerging economies (45.5%), the proportion of all female entrepreneurs varies considerably: from 16% in South Korea to 55% in Ghana (the only economy with more female entrepreneurs).[ citation needed ] Moreover, in many emerging economies, women are now starting a business faster than men, making significant contributions to job creation and economic growth. Women are also more likely to start businesses focused on sustainability. [28] [29] [30]

Developing countries

A disproportionate share of female-owned businesses in developing countries today are either small or medium enterprises, which often do not mature as a result of negative growth and poverty. Understanding the specific barriers women's businesses face and providing solutions to address them is necessary to further leverage the economic power of women for growth and the attainment of development goals.

Nigeria

Nigeria is currently the leading economy in Africa and holds much potential growth for female entrepreneurs. [31] Women in leadership roles do not significantly differ from men in Nigeria, indicating there is significant growth potential once barriers to entry have been removed. [32]

Kazakhstan

The government of Kazakhstan supports the development of female-led small and medium businesses. For example, in cooperation with EBRD, Kazakhstan executes the Women in Business program. The budget of the program is $50 million. [33] Empowerment of Women in the Corporate Sector is an international forum held in Astana, Kazakhstan. [34] 44% of all businesses in Kazakhstan are female-owned and contribute to Kazakhstan's economic development and modernization. [34]

In order to support women and women's organizations with a view to sustainable and inclusive development, Kazakhstan held the OSCE-supported Second International Women's Forum on Future Energy: Women, Business, and the Global Economy in August 2017. The conference also focused on the importance of teaching women new technologies as a form of social entrepreneurship. [35]

Kenya

Kenya has also seen significant growth for women in business; encouraging entrepreneurship by women has been an important approach to poverty in Kenya. [36] [37] The Kenyan government, with support from NGOs, has created many programs providing access to financial resources, loans, and entrepreneurial education. Two examples are the Women's Enterprise Fund, enacted in 2007, and the creation of the Women's University of Science and Technology. [36] The Women's Enterprise Fund allows women greater access to small loans and financial services, such as bank accounts. [36] The Women's University of Science and Technology, which is the first all-women's university in Kenya, allows women to access higher education and entrepreneurial training. [36] These programs have empowered women to create small to medium-size enterprises, such as tailoring and bead-making. Kenyan society has also seen some shift in women's roles from caretakers to business owners, as called for in Vision 2030 - the Kenyan government's initiative to empower women, to achieve greater gender equality, economic growth, and to alleviate poverty. [36] [38]

The barriers women face to becoming entrepreneurs are exemplified through the perspectives of existing female entrepreneurs in Kenya. Mary Okello, the executive director of a cluster of private schools called Makini schools, discussed the difficulty of accessing loans. She explained that a major issue in Kenya was that only 1% of land is owned solely by women which makes it difficult for them to offer a bank collateral. Another obstacle for women in business is the limited foundational support from the Kenyan government. This is expressed through the experience of Esther Passaris, managing director of Adopt A Light. She recalled that when her organization partnered with the Council, there was no clear and evident framework for the next progressive steps and she felt the government could have provided a more effective way of protecting her business. [39]

Ghana

In some other African countries like Ghana, women such as Ayisha Fuseini have benefited from grants and sponsorships from NGOs and big business like Camfed and the MasterCard Foundation's Innovation Bursary Program (IBP) and became entrepreneurs in their own right. [40] [41]

Thailand

In Thailand the gender gap in education has reduced. In 2015, women were almost half of the 38.8 million in the labor force: 17.6 million or 45.8 percent were women. Gender equality is guaranteed by the Thai constitution. As a result, Thailand is one of the countries with the highest number of women in management positions. [42] Thailand has 45% more women in CEO positions than the ASEAN countries and China, and 36% of senior managers are women, higher than the G7 countries (21%). [43] Thailand is also one of the world's best-performing countries when it comes to women in senior business roles. The kingdom also has a high workforce participation rate for women: 60.1% in March 2019. Thailand consistently comes in the top five Asia-Pacific countries with the highest number of women in executive roles. [42]

Developed countries

United Kingdom

A surge in the number of women starting businesses in the United Kingdom has narrowed the so-called "enterprise gap" between male and female company owners in the past decade. The proportion of working-age women going into business rose by 45% in the three-year period between 2013 and 2016, compared with 2003 to 2006, according to a report by Aston University in Birmingham. The share of working-age men going into business increased by 27% during the same period. [44]

United States

The number of female-owned businesses in the United States is growing at twice the rate of all firms. As of 2018, around 40% of US firms are majority-owned by women, much higher than most other developed economies. [45] Corporate support for women in business is also on the rise, with small business grants [46] made available to help women in business. [47] [48]

Affirmative action has been credited with "bringing a generation of women into business ownership" in the United States, following the 1988 Women's Business Ownership Act and subsequent measures. [49]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chief executive officer</span> Highest-ranking officer of an organization

A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate executive charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Conference Board</span> American non-profit research organization

The Conference Board, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit business membership and research organization. It counts over 1,000 public and private corporations and other organizations as members, encompassing 60 countries.

Egon Zehnder International Ltd. is a global management consulting and executive search firm. Egon Zehnder is the world's largest privately held executive search firm and the third largest executive search and talent strategy firm globally with an annual revenue of CHF 883 million. The firm offers services in Executive Search, Board Consulting and Leadership Strategy Services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women in Kazakhstan</span>

Women in Kazakhstan are women who live in or are from Kazakhstan. Their position in society has been and is influenced by a variety of factors, including local traditions and customs, decades of Soviet regime, rapid social and economic changes and instability after independence, and new emerging Western values.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women's World Banking</span> Nonprofit organization

Women's World Banking is a global nonprofit organization dedicated to women's economic empowerment through financial inclusion.

Catalyst Inc. is a global nonprofit founded by feminist writer and advocate Felice Schwartz in 1962. Schwartz also served as Catalyst's president for 31 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Female entrepreneurs</span> Women who organize and manage an enterprise

Female entrepreneurs are women who organize and manage an enterprise, particularly a business. Female entrepreneurship has steadily increased in the United States during the 20th and 21st century, with number of female owned businesses increasing at a rate of 5% since 1997. This growth has led to the rise of wealthy self-made females such as Coco Chanel, Diane Hendricks, Meg Whitman, and Oprah Winfrey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mallika Srinivasan</span> Indian businesswoman (born 1959)

Mallika Srinivasan is an Indian industrialist and is the chairman and managing director of Tractors and Farm Equipment Limited, a tractor major incorporated in 1960 at Chennai, India. She served as Chairperson of the Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) constituted by the Government of India from 1 April 2021 and served there till 18 November 2024. She is additionally on the Global Board of U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC), and the Boards of AGCO Corporation - United States. She is a core member of the BRICS Women's Business Alliance and a member of India-US CEO Forum. She is also the member on the Governing Body of Stella Maris College - Chennai.

Gender representation on corporate boards of directors refers to the proportion of men and women who occupy board member positions. To measure gender diversity on corporate boards, studies often use the percentage of women holding corporate board seats and the percentage of companies with at least one woman on their board. Globally, men occupy more board seats than women. As of 2018, women held 20.8% of the board seats on Russell 1000 companies. Most percentages for gender representation on corporate boards refer only to public company boards. Private companies are not required to disclose information on their board of directors, so the data is less available.

Gender diversity is equitable representation of people of different genders. It most commonly refers to an equitable ratio of men and women, but also includes people of non-binary genders. Gender diversity on corporate boards has been widely discussed, and many ongoing initiatives study and promote gender diversity in fields traditionally dominated by men, including computing, engineering, medicine, and science. It is argued that some proposed explanations are without merit and are in fact dangerous, while others do play a part in a complex interaction of factors. It is suggested that the very nature of science may contribute to the removal of women from the 'pipeline'.

Ilene S. Gordon is an American business executive. She became CEO, president, and chairman of Ingredion in May, 2009 and became the 21st female CEO of a Fortune 500 company when Ingredion's sales reached $6 billion for the first time, in 2012. As of 2014 she was one of only 24 women who were CEOs of Fortune 500 companies. She retired from the position in 2017.

Africapitalism is the economic philosophy that the African private sector has the power to transform the continent through long-term investments, creating both economic prosperity and social wealth. A think tank tasked with studying the philosophy, the Africapitalism Institute, was formally launched during the 2014 World Economic Forum on Africa in Abuja, Nigeria in May of that year.

Women's Entrepreneurship Day (WED) is a day celebrated annually on 15 November on which the work of women entrepreneurs is observed and discussed, held every day of each year. The inaugural event was held in New York City at the United Nations, with additional events being held simultaneously in several other countries. 144 nations overall recognized the first WED in 2014, which included the presentation of the Women's Entrepreneurship Day Pioneer Awards. The organization behind WED also has an ambassadorship and fellowship program.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ameera Shah</span> Indian entrepreneur

Ameera Shah (born 24 September 1979) is an Indian entrepreneur. She is Executive Chairperson and Whole-time Director of Metropolis Healthcare, a leading diagnostic chain with presence in India and Africa. She is the daughter of Dr Sushil Shah, the founder of Metropolis Healthcare.

Ayisha Fuseini is a Ghanaian social entrepreneur. Fuseini is the founder and CEO of a company called Asheba Enterprise, registered in 2013 in Ghana, working with over 600 women in rural communities in Tamale; Northern region. She established a processing center that reduces the workload of the women she works with. Her enterprise also provides financial services to support women in the Shea business. Her company produces beauty products such as soap, body creams and other products using high quality shea butter. She is also a supplier of shea butter to The Body Shop chain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nkiru Balonwu</span> Nigerian entrepreneur

Nkiru Balonwu is an entrepreneur and activist based in Lagos, Nigeria. She is known for her views of women as the solution to Africa's problems and is the founder and chairperson of African Women on Board, an independent, women-led African non-profit organisation focused on advancing narratives to improve realities for women and girls of African heritage. She is also founder and managing partner of RDF Strategies, a consultancy firm that provides advice on strategic communication and stakeholder engagement across sectors from law, technology, finance, advocacy, international development, show business consulting, political engineering and communications

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Global Entrepreneurship Summit</span> International event for entrepreneurship

The Global Entrepreneurship Summit is an annual event organized by the federal government of the United States, in partnership with foreign government hosts. The summit originated from an event organized by the Obama Administration called the Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship, which was held in April 2010 in Washington, D.C. It brought together entrepreneurs from the United States, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, and Southeast Asia to discuss the importance of social and economic entrepreneurship, establish entrepreneurship as an important area of policy focus, and strengthen mutually beneficial relationships between entrepreneurs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julie Sweet</span> American business executive

Julie Terese Sweet is an American business executive and attorney. She is chair and chief executive officer (CEO) of Accenture, a multinational professional services company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lorraine Hariton</span>

Lorraine Hariton is the president and CEO of Catalyst, a New York City–based nonprofit organization committed to the advancement of women in the workplace.

Evelyn Namara is a Ugandan technologist, technology entrepreneur and corporate executive who founded Vouch Digital in 2015. She serves as a non executive director on the KCB Bank Uganda Board of Directors, MTN Mobile Money Uganda Limited Boards of Directors and also serves on Village Enterprise Board. She is first Ugandan to win the Anita Borg Change Agent Award Winner in October 2012. She is the founder of Innovate Uganda

References

  1. ↑ Ehreke, J. (14 November 2001). "Kommunikationstrainer Business English". 52 (11): 874. ISSN   0947-5117.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  2. ↑ Kitching, Beverley M.; Jackson, Pamela A. (May 2002). "Female Entrepreneurs in a Transitional Economy: Businesswomen in China". The International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation. 3 (2): 145–155. doi:10.5367/000000002101299132. ISSN   1465-7503. S2CID   150876556.
  3. ↑ bpc (2021-08-11). "How Women Are Shaping The Future Of Business". Reach Summit - Business Solutions. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
  4. ↑ "Supporting women in business | World Vision UK". www.worldvision.org.uk. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
  5. ↑ "Women Shaping the Business Future – EliteX – A Global Business Media & Marketing Solution Platform" . Retrieved 2024-04-21.
  6. ↑ Okafor, Chinedu (2023-12-07). "Most powerful African women in the world 2023". Business Insider Africa. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
  7. ↑ Mughal, Waqar. "100 Most Powerful Businesswomen 2024". Forbes Lists. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
  8. ↑ "Eight out of ten firms pay men more than women". BBC News. 2023-04-04. Retrieved 2023-05-13.
  9. ↑ Silver, Morris (1995-02-14). Economic Structures of Antiquity. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN   978-0-313-29380-1.
  10. ↑ "The secret letters of history's first-known businesswomen". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  11. ↑ "Women CEOs of the S&P 500 (List)". Catalyst. Retrieved 2022-02-22.
  12. ↑ ecohen (2012-11-15). "Women in S&P 500 Companies". Catalyst. Retrieved 2019-01-20.
  13. ↑ Loop, Paula. "This Explains Why More Women Aren't Landing Board Seats". Fortune. Fortune. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  14. ↑ "Gender Diversity Index" (PDF). 2020 Women on Boards. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 May 2017. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  15. ↑ Michael Connor (March 19, 2010). "Women Lack Numbers and Influence on Corporate Boards". Business Ethics. Retrieved June 16, 2012.
  16. ↑ "Women in Management (Quick Take)". Catalyst. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
  17. ↑ "Women In Leadership Statistics [Fresh Research] • Gitnux". gitnux.org. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
  18. ↑ Moran, Tyler; Noland, Marcus (8 February 2016). "Study: Firms with More Women in the C-Suite Are More Profitable". Harvard Business Review. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  19. ↑ "Directory". 50/50 Women on Boards. Retrieved 2023-05-08.
  20. ↑ "Reports". 50/50 Women on Boards. Retrieved 2023-05-08.
  21. ↑ "Companies Behaving Responsibly: Gender Diversity on Boards" (PDF). The Catalyst Research Centers. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 April 2015. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  22. 1 2 Transearch International. "Scratching The Surface: Women In The Boardroom" . Retrieved June 16, 2012.
  23. ↑ Schroeder, Jackson (2018-11-30). "Women CEOs Are 45 Percent More Likely To Be Fired". The University Network. Retrieved 2018-12-10.
  24. ↑ Belzer, Jason. "The Most Powerful Women In Sports". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
  25. ↑ "What Do 65% of the Most Powerful Women Have In Common? Sports". Fortune. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
  26. ↑ Zarya, Valentina (2017-09-22). "What Do 65% of the Most Powerful Women Have In Common? Sports". Fortune. Retrieved 2022-01-15.
  27. ↑ Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (January 6, 2012). "GEM 2010 Womens Report". Global Entrepreneurship Monitor. Archived from the original on June 18, 2012. Retrieved June 16, 2012.
  28. ↑ Balch, Oliver (2015-04-27). "Women at the top is better for business and the environment". The Guardian . Retrieved 2020-09-17.
  29. ↑ Westman, Moa. "Development Solutions: How to fight climate change with gender equality". European Investment Bank . Retrieved 2020-09-17.
  30. ↑ Braun, Patrice (2010-09-28). "Going green: women entrepreneurs and the environment". International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship. 2 (3): 245–259. doi:10.1108/17566261011079233. hdl:1959.17/60229. ISSN   1756-6266.
  31. ↑ "Meet 41 Nigerian Women Entrepreneurs Putting the Country on the Global Business Map". Lionesses of Africa. 10 August 2016. Retrieved 2021-05-19.
  32. ↑ Halkias, Daphne; Nwajiuba, Chinedum; Harkiolakis, Nicholas; Caracatsanis, Sylva M. (2011-01-01). O. Okpara, John (ed.). "Challenges facing women entrepreneurs in Nigeria". Management Research Review. 34 (2): 221–235. doi:10.1108/01409171111102821. ISSN   2040-8269.
  33. ↑ Pyrkalo, Svitlana (25 November 2015). "EBRD launches Women in Business programme for Kazakhstan at Eurasian Women's Summit in Astana". European Bank for Reconstruction and Development . Retrieved 2015-11-30.
  34. 1 2 Shayakhmetova, Zhanna (14 February 2017). "Forum addresses national gender equality achievements and challenges". The Astana Times.
  35. ↑ "OSCE supports second international women's forum in Kazakhstan". osce.org .
  36. 1 2 3 4 5 Lock, Rachel; Lawton Smith, Helen (2016-03-14). "The impact of female entrepreneurship on economic growth in Kenya" (PDF). International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship. 8 (1): 90–96. doi:10.1108/ijge-11-2015-0040. ISSN   1756-6266.
  37. ↑ Brooks, Wyatt; Donovan, Kevin; Johnson, Terence R. (October 2018). "Mentors or Teachers? Microenterprise Training in Kenya". American Economic Journal: Applied Economics. 10 (4): 196–221. doi:10.1257/app.20170042. ISSN   1945-7782. S2CID   39603468.
  38. ↑ "Where we are : Eastern and Southern Africa: Kenya". UN Women | Africa. Retrieved 2020-05-13.
  39. ↑ Cutura, Jozefina. "Voices of Women Entrepreneurs in Kenya" (PDF). International Finance Corporation: 1–4.
  40. ↑ Kuenyehia, Elikem (30 April 2018). "Ayisha Fuseini: The 'Shea' strength of Asheba Enterprise" (PDF). Graphic Business. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 March 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  41. ↑ Caldwell, Georgina (2018-02-23). "The Body Shop shea butter supplier Ayisha Fuseini named Female Entrepreneur of the Year at the Invest in Africa Awards". Global Cosmetics News. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  42. 1 2 Wailerdsak (Yabushita), Natenapha (2020-08-31). "Women in Business and Management in Thailand Transforming High Participation Without EEO". Southeast Asian Economies. 37 (2): 163–180. doi:10.1355/ae37-2c. ISSN   2339-5095. S2CID   225335711.
  43. ↑ Activities (ACT/EMP), ILO-Bureau for Employers' (2015-01-12). Women in Business and Management: Gaining momentum. ISBN   978-92-2-128873-2.
  44. ↑ "Surge in female entrepreneurs narrows UK gender gap" . Financial Times . 2017-07-04. Retrieved 2023-05-02.
  45. ↑ Gonzalez, Gaudalupe. "New Research Finds Women Are Starting 1,821 New Businesses a Day, but There's a Catch". Inc. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  46. ↑ rehman, Hafsa. "Small business grants for women entrepreneurs in the UK". Optimex finance.
  47. ↑ "Google.org Impact Challenge for Women and Girls". Google . Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  48. ↑ Carpenter, McKenzie (8 March 2021). "Google Announces $25 Million in Grants to Empower Women and Girls". Startup Savant. Archived from the original on 28 September 2022. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  49. ↑ "Facts About Women In Business". Prowess 2.0. Retrieved June 16, 2012.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.