South Asia is facing a wake-up call as it follows the world in its efforts to address the gender gap, an expert told CNBC.
The World Economic Forum predicts that it could now take 195 years to achieve gender equality in the region – 59 years longer than the global average.
Businesses have a major responsibility to close the gap, Sharmini Wainwright, chief executive of recruitment agency Michael Page Australia, told CNBC.
“It’s probably a good time to wake up here,” Wainwright said Thursday.
India, in particular, has a long way to go in this regard, she said, noting that the pandemic and other cultural and demographic issues have made it an “incredibly challenging year” for the country. Currently, only 13% of directors in India are women.
“There’s still a long way to go,” Wainwright said. “Big Indian companies (need) to really push for change.”
The findings come as part of a larger WEF study on the impact of the pandemic on the gender gap. It is now estimated that it will take 135.6 years to achieve gender equality – a generation longer than previously thought.
Western Europe has led the way in terms of gender equality, with the gap expected to close in 53 years, followed by North America (age 62) and Latin America and the Caribbean (age 69), according to the study. .
Thailand leads Asia-Pacific
However, other parts of Asia-Pacific have shown signs of progress. In particular, Thailand saw more than half (53%) of women leadership positions in 2020.
These women with leadership positions has tended to be a combination of international as well as home talent, especially within multinational companies in the production and supply chain sectors.
“What you have is an economy and a market that moves very fast and pursues very aggressive talent,” Wainwright said.
She added that it was also the result of concerted efforts in recent decades by certain industries, such as the manufacturing industry, to attract and nurture a pipeline of women leaders.
“Now, 20 years later, you have seen the benefit of this, of the people who have really taken the opportunity to enjoy exceptional careers in this sector and really rise to leadership roles in this regard,” he said. she.
They need more women in the top seat
However, too few women today hold the leading position, namely the role of chief executive.
According to the report, the first three titles held by women in management positions were the CFO, the Marketing Director and the Legal Director.
Wainwright described this as the next “great discovery to be made” and called on men to be better allies.
“How do we get to that number one place? That has yet to come,” she said.
“This conversation is about men as well as women. They are usually in the most influential positions to make a change, to make a decision.”