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

U.S. women hold 20% of senior management positions at private companies

CHICAGO, April 21, 2009 – New global research from Grant Thornton International reveals that women still hold less than a quarter (24%) of senior management positions in privately held businesses, a figure identical to 2007 and only a marginal improvement from 2004 when only 19 percent of senior level positions were held by women. A little over a third (34%) of privately held businesses around the world do not have women in senior management.

In the U.S., only 20 percent of senior management positions at private companies are held by women, while 35 percent do not have any women in senior management at all. The west region has the highest percentage of women in senior management positions at private companies (36%), while the central region has the lowest (14%).

“Independent research has shown that having women in senior management positions contributed to companies attaining significantly higher financial performance than those that did not have women in those roles,” said Jacqueline Akerblom, Grant Thornton LLP’s national managing partner of women’s initiatives and programs and the firm’s West Region International Business Center director. “The International Business Report survey on women continues to shed light on these important issues.”

The greatest percentage of women in senior management is in the Philippines where women hold 47 percent of senior positions (see chart 1 ). They are followed by Russia (42%) and Thailand (38%). The lowest percentage continues to be in Japan where only 7 percent of senior management positions are held by women. Also in the bottom ranks are Denmark (13%) and Belgium (12%).

“Women in the Philippines have really broken the proverbial ‘glass ceiling’, not only in the corporate world but also in government,” said Lily Linsangan, partner in the Grant Thornton International member firm in the Philippines. “As an auditor of more than 25 years, I have not encountered an all male management team. In our own firm, eight of the 18 partners are women and five of the seven members of the management committee are female.”

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%), see chart 2. The biggest falls were in Brazil, where the figure fell from 42 percent in 2007 to 29 percent in 2009, and Hong Kong (falling from 35% in 2007 to 28% in 2009).

“Mexico is a country that is standing up firmly and constantly for women’s rights and equality,” said Verónica Galindo, Audit partner with Grant Thornton International’ Mexico member firm – Salles Sainz Grant Thornton.

“It is known that women need an elevated education level to compete with men in employment, so the Mexican female sector is preparing itself more and more, and the results can be seen with the rise of 10 percentage points in this survey. However, there is still much to do regarding equal salaries compared with men, but I am certain that sooner rather than later the salary differences will decrease.”

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About the survey
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 private companies in 36 countries 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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Grant Thornton International is one of the world’s leading organizations of independently owned and managed accounting and consulting firms. These firms provide assurance, tax and specialist business advice to privately held businesses and public interest entities. Services are delivered independently by the member and correspondent firms within Grant Thornton International, a non-practicing, international umbrella entity organized as a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. Grant Thornton International does not deliver services in its own name or otherwise. Grant Thornton International and the member firms are not a worldwide partnership.