Women still lag behind in Kenya’s corporate management, with only 22 per cent representation, a new report on gender equality at the workplace shows.
According to the report launched by the Nairobi Securities Exchange, Equileap and New Faces New Voices on Wednesday, of the 60 companies listed on the NSE, only seven are headed by women.
GENDER EQUALITY
No firm has achieved gender balance at the board, executive, senior management and general workforce levels. Women account for 23 per cent of board members, up from 21 per cent in 2017.
The study looked into four parameters when ranking the companies — commitment, transparency and accountability; gender balance in leadership and workforce; equal compensation as well as work-life balance and policies promoting gender equality.
Standard Chartered Bank Kenya led with 63 per cent while Nairobi Business Ventures was bottom at just three per cent.
Equileap chief executive Diana van Maasdijk said any company that scored 40 per cent and above was considered to be performing well in enhancing gender equality at the workplace.
Diageo, the top performing company globally this year, beat more than 3,500 others, according to the report.
Standard Chartered Bank (Kenya) therefore is within the top 50 companies worldwide which have a score of 61 per cent or above.
NEW MOTHERS
One of the reasons putting the bank in the lead is its policy on new mothers. Women returning from maternity leave are allowed flexible working hours and locations.A nursing mother has the option of working from home.The average score for Kenyan and Canadian companies is 26 per cent."This grade indicates that there is room for improvement in gender equality at the workplace," the study says.Barclays Bank of Kenya, Stanbic Holdings and WPP ScanGroup are the only companies that have met the balance of the four levels at the workplace. Kenya scores better than the United States in gender inclusion at the workplace. It scores 26 per cent against the US’ 25 per cent.This difference affirms findings of the Equal Measures 2030 that lower-income countries do better in promoting gender equality.STAFF SALARIESThe findings contained in the 2019 SDG Gender Index also show that the world still has a lot to do in achieving gender equality in every sector, especially in industry and innovation. Australia scores 44 per cent in adhering to gender equality at the workplace, a performance attributed to its policies on transparency and accountability.The country has laws requiring firms to make public such information as […]
