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Women in business

Women in business: new perspectives on risk and reward

On International Women’s Day, a new report, Women in Business: New perspectives on risk and reward, based on Grant Thornton’s annual survey of 5,500 businesses in 36 economies reveals the global proportion of senior business roles held by women has hit a high of 25%. However, this is just an increase of 1% from last year and the proportion has only improved 6% since the research began in 2004.

By comparison in New Zealand, 20% of senior roles are held by women in 2017, also up 1% from the last two years, but still down 11% from where we were in 2004. This keeps us at 28th place out of 36 countries surveyed.

The percentage of businesses globally with no women in senior management has also risen, from 33% in 2016 to 34% in 2017. In New Zealand, 37% of businesses have no women in senior management, down from 42% last year – one of the first positive changes since 2012.  Having said that, New Zealand shouldn’t be proud of its placing in the “bottom 10 pack”.

The report emphasises the increase in businesses without gender diversity in senior management comes at a time when uncertainty is dominating the business agenda. It explores the role of gender when it comes to spotting and managing risks, by either seizing the opportunity or managing the threat that risk can bring.

Read the full press release here, or download the report.