In 2023, New Zealand had its strongest board representation with more than 40% female CEOs, according to MSCI.
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New Zealand is paving the way for women's participation in executive roles, as well as compensation, at a time when the rest of the world suffers from poor female representation in leadership positions.
Female CEOs in New Zealand earn an average salary of $5.9 million, more than double their male counterparts, whose average salary is $2.6 million.
The Pacific nation has the strongest representation on boards with more than 40% female CEOs, according to the latest MSCI report.
This contrasts sharply with just 6.5% of executive positions held by women – up slightly from 5.8% in 2022 – as the MSCI ACWI index of 2,868 large and mid-cap companies from developed and emerging markets showed. Women held 19% of CFO positions
Developed countries lag behind badly when it comes to women's representation in senior jobs. In countries such as Switzerland (2.2%), the Netherlands (3.2%), and Germany (3.6%), among others, there were less than 5% of women in the CEO position, with those in Switzerland earning more than four times less. than their male counterparts.
In Asia, Japan (1.1%), South Korea (3.2%), and Hong Kong (4.8%) have less than 5% of female CEOs, although in South Korea they earn more than their male counterparts, according to the MSCI report. a
The MSCI ACWI index showed that healthcare companies and consumer services companies had the largest number of female CEOs at 10.4%, while the number of CFOs was about 20%.
Board seats held by women in 2023 rose to 25.8% from 24.5% the previous year, according to MSCI ACWI data.
While this rise is a good sign, experts point out that there is still a lot to be done for women to enjoy stable tenure on the board.
“There is a huge gap between what happens once women get on the board, and the average length of time women spend on any board is about three and a half years,” said Chitra Hepburn, head of ESG and Climate at MSCI Asia Pacific. “.
The number of companies in healthcare with all-male boards fell to 5.4% in 2023 from 6.8% in 2022.
Of the 11 sectors tracked by MSCI, the information technology sector had the largest proportion of companies with all-male boards at 15%, an increase of 0.8% from 2022, followed by the materials industry at 14%.
Real estate saw the most dramatic decline in all-male boards: to 8.6% in 2023 from 14.8% in 2022.
“It's one thing to check the box and get them on your board, but it's a whole different thing. If you want to change your company's board culture and make inclusion more of an issue rather than just diversity for diversity's sake,” Hepburn told CNBC
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