More women getting top roles in PH-listed firms
Women are getting more opportunities to serve in top management positions and on boards of local publicly listed firms, with the number of seats held by women in executive leadership teams (ELTs) increasing to 40 percent of available positions in 2022.
According to a study titled “Census on Women in Executive Leadership Teams in Philippine Publicly Listed Companies,” there were only 24 women working in executive leadership capacities in 2020, translating to a 38-percent representation.
In 2022, however, this number rose to 32, equivalent to 40-percent women representation in top management.
Gender balance
The number of women holding board seats also grew by 3 percent, giving 18 percent of publicly listed companies (PLCs) what could be deemed a gender-balanced board of directors.
On the other hand, 32 percent of PLCs’ top management teams were also considered gender-balanced in 2022.
The expansion in women representation in ELTs was most felt in the financial and property sectors, with the number of women leaders growing by 18 percent, bringing women representation in their ELTs to 46 percent.
The industrial, holding firms and mining and oil sectors, however, were on the tail end of women representation at only 16 percent in 2022.
Line roles
ELT positions refer to those that report directly to the chief executive officer (CEO), either in line roles or functional roles.
Line roles contribute to a company’s commercial outcomes and have profit-and-loss responsibilities.
These include the CEO, chief operating officer, marketing and sales, business development, and the like.
Functional roles, on the other hand, do not have direct profit-and-loss responsibilities, and usually include human resources, information technology, legal, corporate affairs, and administration and general services.
Glass wall
Most of the women in ELT positions, or 58 percent, held functional roles. The study noted that the path to being promoted to the CEO position was usually paved for those holding line roles, which were still heavily dominated by men.
The study referred to this as the “glass wall,” where women held predominantly functional roles and men had the lion’s share of line roles.
“Line roles are more ‘strategic,’ as they often lead to top leadership roles, including positions on the board of directors. This is also seen in Philippine PLCs, where women make up almost half of functional roles and only 34 percent of line roles,” the study said.
“Data on women CEOs in Philippine PLCs further shows that most women CEOs held line roles prior to their appointment. The ‘overrepresentation’ of women in functional roles limits women’s opportunities for upward career mobility and narrows the talent pool for executive, board, and CEO positions.”
The study was jointly done by the Philippine Women’s Economic Network, Philippine Business Coalition for Women Empowerment, Investing in Women and WR Numero Research, Inc.
It aimed to “establish a tangible baseline for the continuous and comprehensive tracking of women’s representation in [PLCs].”
Gender equality
This could serve as a guide for the private sector in setting gender equality targets and tracking their progress, as well as for the government and policymakers to establish policies that could further support gender equality in the country.
The study showed, for example, that while the number of women executives occupying line roles was increasing, growing 3 percent from 2020 to 2022, this just represented 34 percent of available line roles in PLCs in 2022.
According to the executives who joined the high-level discussions conducted by the research team in October 2023, gender stereotypes and gendered perceptions regarding specific sectors were hampering the ascent of women to more executive leadership line roles.
They said that women were usually viewed as “more suited for functional roles because they are more detail-oriented, patient, and highly organized.”
Some sectors also held gendered perceptions as being more suited for either men or women.
For example, mining and oil, holding firms, financial, and industrial sectors were commonly thought of as more suited for men, while the services and property sectors were more suited for women.
Data showed the impact of these gendered perceptions, as only 12 percent of line roles in the mining and oil sector were occupied by women, vis-a-vis 40 percent of functional roles.
This had the potential of also influencing women’s choice of college degree programs to pursue.
Career mobility
Another challenge to women’s career mobility is the care work that they often perform for their families, which usually includes cooking, cleaning, shopping and caring for children, among others.
These are pervasive gender stereotypes that are not expected from men, but add to the already heavy mental load of women.
“Women are often recognized for their multitasking and being able to juggle their career and care work. However, the demands of these roles can significantly impact their mental and physical health,” the study said.
“As a result, the high-level discussion participants cited instances where women declined promotions, knowing that these would entail additional work-related responsibilities. This further contributes to the challenge of the leaky pipeline,” the report added.
The study defined the “leaky pipeline” as a situation where women’s representation decreased as the level of management increased.
“This is evident in Philippine PLCs, as women only make up 21 percent of the (board of directors) and a mere 13 percent hold CEO positions, despite comprising most of the country’s labor force,” it said.
To address these challenges, the study recommended that PLCs:
build a gender-inclusive culture by identifying and eliminating gender biases, as well as role and industry stereotypes; invest in mentoring, training, and succession planning programs that will prepare employees for high-level roles, and also allow them to laterally transfer from functional roles to line roles if they are deemed capable and suitable for such a move; implement flexible working arrangements that can help foster greater work-life balance; and set gender targets in ELTs and boards.
