Senior management still a male preserve

New findings released today from the Grant Thornton International BusinessOwners Survey (IBOS), reveal that although 59% of businesses globally includewomen in senior management positions, they occupy less than a fifth (19%) of thesenior management posts available. IBOS is a survey of some 6900 medium sizedbusinesses from 26 countries worldwide.

Russia has the highest proportion (89%) of companies where women occupy amanagement role, followed by the Philippines (85%). Three quarters of businessesin the US, Mexico and South Africa (each 75%) and Hong Kong (74%) have women inmanagement positions. Bottom of the pack are The Netherlands and Pakistan (both27%), Japan (29%), and Germany (33%).

Whilst six in ten of the companies surveyed include at least one woman in asenior management position, what is particularly interesting is how little womenhave penetrated the overall ranks of senior managers. Russia is the only countryto approach equal numbers with 42% of management posts held by women, followedby the Philippines at 39%. It is striking in the US, for example, that although75% of businesses employ women in senior management positions, women hold a mere20% of total senior jobs.

At the other end of the scale, Japan and the Netherlands have the lowest resultson both counts. In Japan a mere 8% of the senior management are women whereas inthe Netherlands the figure is marginally better at 9%.

Commenting on the results, Sacha Romanovitch, Partner, Grant Thornton said:"Analysing the results requires a certain amount of caution due to culturaldifferences. In countries such as the Philippines where women's rights havenever been an issue or have ceased being one, where religious beliefs do notencroach on the right of a woman to work, and where women have had to step intomore high profile roles often more because of necessity than choice,representation in the country's senior management roles is relatively high. Bythe same token, women's rights issues, religious constraints, and, crucially inthe modern world, economic ones, such as childcare costs, are all key factorswhich can help determine the levels of representation by women in seniormanagement".

Notes to editors

Grant Thornton International is one of the world's leading organisations ofindependently owned and managed accounting and consulting firms providingassurance, tax and specialist advice to independent businesses and their owners.

The strength of each local firm is reflected in the quality of our organisation.Member firms operate in 110 countries, bringing together 21,500 personnel inover 585 offices worldwide. All Grant Thornton International member firms sharea commitment to providing the same high quality service to their clientswherever they choose to do business.