Fewer Pinay CEOs in 2013 – survey

MANILA, Philippines - There are fewer Filipina chief executive officers (CEOs) this year than in 2012, according to a study report undertaken by the Grant Thorton International Business Report (IBR), and released by Punongbayan & Araullo (P&A).

P&A is a prestigious audit, tax, advisory and outsourcing services firm while Grant Thorton is one the world’s leading organizations of independent assurance, tax and advisory firms.

According to the report, 37 percent of senior posts in the Philippines are held by women, down by two percentage points from 2012.

“Despite the drop, the Philippines has the largest proportion of female top executives among the participating ASEAN countries, and remains significantly above the global average,” the report, released yesterday, said.

The global average is 24 percent in 2013, up by three percentage points from last year.

Thailand was second with a 36-percent ratio of senior posts held by females.

P&A chairman and CEO Marivic Espano said the study also asked about the composition of the surveyed firms’ board of directors this year.

In the Philippines, there are 2.31 women directors in an average size 6.85 board.

“When you look at the big picture, women in the Philippines are still in a better position compared to their counterparts in most other countries,” Españo said, adding that globally the average is 19 percent.

“So it’s fair to say that Filipinas do have a voice proportion and make sure it doesn’t skew against women any further,” she added.

The IBR report also looked into the roles women occupy in upper management. In the Philippines, finance remains the province of female business leaders.

More than half of the respondents – 59 percent – said a woman holds the post of chief finance officer (CFO) in their company; 23 percent said their CEO is a woman, compared to just 13 percent last year.

The P&A chief executive said that despite the reduction of female CEOs from 2012, there remained strong indications that there will be more opportunities for females in top senior executive posts.

“As our economy grows, there will be even more opportunities for women to lead, and we can reclaim that top spot as a global role model for gender parity in the business community,” Espano added.