Women still hold less than a quarter of senior management positions in privately held businesses

18 March 2009

New research from Grant Thornton International reveals that women still hold less than a quarter of senior management positions in privately held businesses globally. 24% of senior management positions are currently held by women - a figure identical to 2007 and only a marginal improvement from 2004 when only 19% of senior level positions were held by women. 34% of privately held businesses globally have no women in senior management.

The greatest percentage of women in senior management is in the Philippines where women hold 47% of senior positions. They are followed by Russia (42%) and Thailand (38%). In Armenia 29% of senior positions are held by women, being the 9th country in the league, whereas the lowest percentage continues to be in Japan (only 7%). Also appearing low down the league table are Denmark (13%) and Belgium (12%).

Lilit Arabajyan, partner in Grant Thornton Amyot, the Armenian member of Grant Thornton International, says, "During the past decade we have seen a significant increase in women's role in various organizations. Today many women occupy managerial positions in businesses. The results of this survey only show that there has been an increase of 7% in women's managerial share in 2009 in Armenia, as compared to 22% of the year 2007. As an audit partner in the leading audit and advisory company in Armenia, I work with many large enterprises every year and have hardly met a management team composed of only men. In our firm, 51% of staff are women, among whom 11 persons occupy managerial positions".

Women have become most successful in increasing their share of senior management roles in Turkey (up from 17% in 2007 to 29% in 2009) and Mexico (20% in 2007 to 31%). The biggest falls were in Brazil, where the figure fell from 42% in 2007 to 29% in 2009, and Hong Kong (falling from 35% in 2007 to 28% in 2009).

The Grant Thornton International Business Report is an annual survey of the views of senior executives in privately held businesses all over the world. Launched in 1992 in nine European countries the report now surveys over 7,200 PHBs in 36 economies providing territory, regional and global trend data on the economic and commercial issues affecting a sector often described as the 'engine' of the world's economy. Data for eight key industry sectors will be available for the first time in 2009. The research is conducted by Experian Business Strategies Ltd. Grant Thornton International donates US$5 to UNICEF for every completed IBR questionnaire, a donation of over US$39,000 in 2008. To find out more about the Grant Thornton International Business Report, please visit www.internationalbusinessreport.com

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