•The number of women at the C-suite level is at 11 per cent and board level at 10 per cent.
•Kenya nevertheless does have a higher representation of women in junior professional or specialist roles when compared to the global average with 41% to 40%.
Image: CHARLENE MALWA
The leadership pipeline for women has hollowed out in the middle, according to a new global study “Women in leadership: Why perception outpaces the pipeline—and what to do about it”.
The survey by IBM (NYSE: IBM) Institute for Business Value (IBV) and Chief Study indicates that in Kenya, the number of women at the C-suite level is at 11 per cent and board level at 10 per cent.
C-suite refers to the executive-level managers within a company.
Common c-suite executives include Chief Executive Officer (CEO), chief financial officer (CFO), chief operating officer (COO), and chief information officer (CIO).
This is however slightly below the global representation as it is 12 per cent for both C-suite and Board levels.
Kenya nevertheless does have a higher representation of women in junior professional or specialist roles when compared to the global average with 41per cent to 40 per cent, respectively.
However, the global pipeline for top leadership positions still hasn’t recovered to pre-pandemic levels, the report indicates.
There is even more stagnation in senior professional and non-executive managerial positions as the global percentage of women holding these positions stands 30 per cent, and in Kenya at 29 per cent.
In addition, fewer than half (47%) of Kenyan organisations (2%) higher than the global figure of (45%) surveyed in the report, indicated they have made advancing more women into leadershiproles a top, formal business priority.
“While we’re pleased to see slight progress in the representation of women in junior professional, specialist roles in Kenya when compared to the global levels, it’s imperative that companies do more to fill the pipeline that leads to increase in C-suite and board level positions, including furthering the participation in junior and specialists roles,” said Lindsay Kaplan, Co- Founder and Chief Brand Officer of Chief.
According to Kaplan, women are significantly underrepresented at nearly every level of the workforce.
Enabling equity
If companies prioritise gender diversity across their entire organisations through policies, investments, and a culture that meaningfully supports women, there will be a transformative impact — equity for everyone in the workplace and stronger, more resilient businesses, Kaplan notes.
Previous research has shown that enabling equity and inclusion gives organisations a competitive edge, yet many local companies do not act as if their success depends on it, says Caroline Mukiira, General Manager, IBM East Africa.
“To thrive in a rapidly changing world, Kenyan organisations must prioritise advancing women and all historically under-represented groups – and take action to challenge structural barriers and unconscious bias,” Mukiira said.
The study also found: Optimism is rising, but it doesn’t reflect reality.
Respondents estimate their industry will see gender parity in leadership in eight years, compared to 2019 when the average industry estimate was 54 years.
But the reality is, at the current rate of change based on survey data, gender parity is still decades away, experts note.
Structural barriers and unconscious bias continue to hinder women’s advancement.
Since the height of the pandemic, more organisations have implemented career development planning for women, diversity training, and the creation of women’s networking groups.
“However, biases persist. For example, when asked if women with dependent children are as dedicated to their jobs as women without children, the
majority of respondents say yes, this is what leaders in their organisation believe, except for male managers-only about 40 per cent agreed,” the report reads in part.
The attributes perceived as critical for leadership also remain gendered.
Respondents shared men are primarily valued for creativity and being results-oriented with integrity, and expected women to be strategic and bold but also people-oriented.
Geopolitical developments are seen to have a disproportionate impact on women at work.
Respondents rank political developments in the country and the region as the most serious disruption facing women, in recognition of the immense, lasting toll it has taken on them.
Globally, the lasting effects of the pandemic was number one.
“The research data shows the hollowing out in the middle is real,” Mukiira said, “Structural changes, including reimagining leadership tracks and role descriptions, improving pay transparency, and setting representation goals, can open new pathways for women to progress to more senior roles.”
The study was conducted by the IBM Institute for Business Value and Chief in cooperation with Oxford Economics.
It surveyed 2,500 executives, managers, and professionals-an equal number of women and men-from organisations in 12 countries and 10 industries.
It follows IBM studies from 2021 and 2019 that surveyed respondents representing the same range of roles, industries and regions to allow for longitudinal analysis.