What the numbers tell us
The evolution in recent years has been slow but positive. According to data from the World Economic Forum, since 2015 the number of women in top leadership roles has been growing, particularly in the so-called C-suite positions, where female representation has increased from 17% to 21%. Today, 44% of companies have 3 or more women in C-suite positions, whereas in 2015 this figure was 29%. However, the total number of women in CEO roles at the largest companies in the US is still very low - only 5%. According to another study, in 2019 only 29% of senior management roles were held by women, with 87% of companies having at least one woman in one of those roles.
In Portugal, the trend is identical. According to the first conclusions of the project Women on Boards Portugal, lead by Professor Sara Falcão Casacathe number of women in the administration of listed companies has been increasing; however, Portugal is among the group of countries with the lowest number of women in the administration bodies of the largest listed companies in Europe. There are only 24.8% women among the directors of these companies, which, despite improvements, is below the average of 27.8% in the 28 countries of the European Union. According to a D&B analysis of the evolution of female participation in management positions between 2013 and 2019, women hold only 30% of management positions in Portugal. Even so, companies in the state business sector record a female presence in management of 32.2%, higher than the 29.8% in the private sector.
Cultural bias and social perception
This gender gap in top management positions around the world is well known and has been the subject of several studies, namely when the majority of young people graduating from higher education are women and at least half of the people working around the world are also women.
There are many factors that contribute to this shortage of women in senior management positions. For centuries, there has been a broad cultural bias towards women and stereotypes are difficult to change. There is immense research that has shown that this unconscious bias plays a very significant role in hiring and promotion decisions, which also contribute to the lower number of women in leadership positions. However, one of the most important factors relates to the characteristics of women themselves and their levels of confidence and ambition.
How to counter the trend
It was with this reality as a starting point that CIP decided to leave its comfort zone and invest in an innovative initiative that aims to boost the access of women to positions of greater responsibility, namely in the management and administration of companies. Inspired by and in close partnership with its Spanish counterpart, the Promova Project begins today, which aims to support the development and training of women, with a view to increasing their presence in the top management of companies.
With the Promova Project, which is an executive training programme developed in partnership with Nova SBE Executive Education over one year, and which includes support for the development of the participants through coaching and mentoring sessions, CIP believes that it will definitely contribute to greater social balance, promoting gender diversity in leadership roles.
Although I recognise that much has evolved in this area since my first professional experience, in 1988, as a member of a top management team, where for 10 years I was the only female representative in that team, I know many women with skills and the desire to grow professionally, who face enormous obstacles to do so. On the other hand, I also know women with the potential to grow and evolve professionally into management positions who, by choice, or conviction due to the perception of incompatibility with the exercise of other roles, do not "dare" to consider this possibility. And perhaps this is where Promova's role is most important, empowering the participants to want to and becoming a true "executive program to balance the power".
This initiative aims to identify and develop female talent with leadership potential and starts today at the Carcavelos Campus of Nova SBE.
The Promova Project is the result of a partnership between Nova SBE and CIP - Confederação Empresarial de Portugal.
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