Women in business 2018

Beyond policy to progress

Businesses globally have taken one step forward but one step back on women in leadership. Significantly more businesses (75% in 2018 v 66% in 2017) now have at least one woman on the senior management team, but the proportion of the team that is female has slipped from 25% to 24%, according to Grant Thornton International Ltd.’s annual Women in Business report.

In Singapore, 78% of businesses now have at least one woman on the senior management team, with 30% of the team that is female. Both statistics rank above the global average, but below ASEAN at 84% and 39% respectively.

Published to coincide with International Women’s Day 2018, which calls on all to #PressforProgress, the research reveals that introducing policies alone is not enough to drive real progress. A wider culture of inclusion championed from the top is needed to create change.

Grant Thornton’s report investigates the role of both business and government policy in bringing about change. The data shows gender equality policies are abundant and widespread globally. Measures that support working parents are also popular among businesses, including paid parental leave (59%), flexible hours (57%) and part-time working (54%).

In Singapore, the top three common gender equality policies are paid parental leave (80%), equal pay for both men and women performing the same roles (76%), and non-discrimination policies for recruitment (74%).

Singapore businesses say they are motivated to introduce gender equality policies primarily to enhance company performance (84%), live up to organisational values (82%), and attract and keep employees (84%). However, Singapore businesses also cite these key barriers to introducing policies – the cost of implementation (26%), stereotypes about gender roles (26%), and complexity of translating good intentions into practice (24%).

Read the full report here: Women in business: beyond policy [ 2216 kb ]