Gender benchmark study highlights poor representation of women in the workplace in Asia.
Community Business recently published its latest report, the Gender Diversity Benchmark for Asia 2011 (GDBA 2011). The study shows that the leaking pipeline of women in the workplace is a very real phenomenon in Asia and that much more needs to be done to support high potential women as they struggle to balance personal and professional responsibilities.
The report examines the representation of women at junior, middle and senior levels of 21 participating companies in six key geographies in Asia, including: China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore. Analysis of the data provided by the participating companies reveals the following key findings:
China, 50%, has the highest percentage of women represented in the total workforce; followed by Malaysia, 47%; Hong Kong, 45%; and Singapore, 43%. The lowest percentages of women are employed in India, 24%; with Japan, 34%, the second lowest.
Consistent with other regional and international gender studies, the phenomenon of the ‘leaking pipeline’ is very evident in Asia. Across all countries, the representation of women is highest at the junior level and lowest at the senior levels. There is a decrease by an average of 29% from junior to middle level and a further average of 48% from middle to senior levels.
The chart below shows the best and worst performing geographies across job levels in Asia:
With the exception of India, the greatest leak—i.e. the largest percentage decrease of women, takes place between middle and senior level positions.
In India the greatest leak takes place early on in a woman’s career—from junior to middle level positions, there is a 59% decrease. This means the leaking pipeline in India is in fact more severe than in the other geographies as the pool of women is severely diminished at an earlier stage.
High potential women in India are concerned about the personal sacrifices they may be making in terms of possibly foregoing having children for their career and highlighted the important role of their parents in their decision-making.
Commenting on the findings, Shalini Mahtani, Founder of Community Business and co-author of the research said, “The issues of greatest concern were related to work-family balance. Our observation is that companies need to take a more holistic and creative approach to the career trajectories of their female employees—with a focus on enabling them to fulfil their professional and personal responsibilities at different stages in their life and career. Only then will women be no longer required to make tough choices that force many to settle for less challenging roles or opt out of the workforce altogether.“
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
