Armenia in Top 10 Countries for female representation in senior positions


IF you think you can guess the top nations for women to get ahead – then think again and check out our surprising stats.
The top 10 countries:
1. Russia
2. Indonesia
3. Latvia
4. Philippines
5. Lithuania
6. China
7. Thailand
8. Estonia
9. Armenia
10. Georgia

The bottom 10 countries:
10. Spain
9. United States
8. United Kingdom
7. Denmark
6. Germany
5. India
4. UAE
3. Switzerland
2. Netherlands
1. Japan

EQUALITY might not be the first words that spring to mind when you think of countries like China and Russia, but these stats on International Women’s Day show that they are streets ahead when it comes to female representation.
Russia tops the list for the percentage of females in senior management positions within 45 large economies in a Grant Thornton/ Forbes report.
A whopping 43 per cent of CEO posts in Russian private companies are held by women.

Other surprising entries in the top 10 include the Phillipines with 40 per cent of top roles held by women, and China on 38 per cent.

Surprisingly, western economies are way down the list, with the United States (22 per cent) and the United Kingdom (20 per cent) both finding themselves in the bottom 10.

Japan was by far the lowest, with just 9 per cent of senior management positions held by women.

The avowedly socially democratic countries like Norway and Denmark also performed poorly, with a Nordic average of just 24 per cent.

The figures also suggest that gender quotas in business might not be the way forward. Spain passed a law in 2007 that is supposed to mandate companies to ensure balance on company boards, but still finds itself in the bottom 10, with 22 per cent of women in top roles.

The legislation hasn’t had the desired affect as, when it was passed, the ‘Law of Equality’ aimed to have 40 per cent representation of women on boards by 2015.

While no explanation has been offered for why countries like the UK lag behind supposedly less progressive countries such as Russia and China, the stats are a sobering reminder on International Women’s Day of how far we still have to go to ensure full equality in all aspects of public life.

And the lesson for women in the UK is, if you want to get ahead – best get a passport.