One in three senior management positions in businesses in Armenia is held by woman

YEREVAN, March 13. /ARKA/. The figures fr om Grant Thornton’s International Business Report (IBR) reveal that just over one in three (38%) senior management positions in businesses surveyed in Armenia are held by women, more frequently in the positions of HR (27%) and Financial (25%) managers. Despite rising unemployment, the proportion of women in senior management in Europe has continued to rise steadily fr om 17% in 2004 to 20% in 2009 to 24% in 2012, catching up with peers in emerging markets, according to the report.

The proportion of women holding senior management roles in Europe is steadily increasing according to the latest research fr om Grant Thornton. However, the reverse is true in emerging markets, where businesses have historically employed more females in senior roles. This leaves the global average at 21%, barely higher than the 2004 level.

April Mackenzie, global head - governance and public policy at Grant Thornton International, said: “Across Europe, getting more women 

into senior management positions has been high on the political agenda for quite some time. Governments have been vocal about addressing the imbalance and as a result businesses have been under real scrutiny. This encouraging rise in senior women shows the effect this attention is starting to have. 

“The steady drop-off we are seeing in the emerging markets is a real concern though. The worry is that we may be reaching the point wh ere women are underrepresented in senior management the world over.” 

There are a myriad of cultural, economic and social barriers which prevent women from reaching the top jobs, but rapid urbanization, which has accompanied rapid economic growth in emerging markets, could help explain why the proportion of women in senior management is falling away. 

April Mackenzie explained: “The movement into cities has begun to break down traditional models of extended families. The in-built childcare infrastructure which allowed children to be raised by grandparents, enabled women to work full-time. This is being replaced by ‘Western-style’ nuclear families which rely on one parent looking after the children or the prospect of expensive childcare.

“Urbanization presents more opportunities for more people, including women, in many different ways. But the challenges it places on 

the family model appear to be having a disproportionately large effect on the ability of women to break the glass ceiling and occupy senior management roles.

“Governments and business leaders in emerging markets need to start working now to address this decline. There needs to be a public discussion now about the policies and practices that will enable and encourage women to continue to progress in the workplace.”

The IBR suggests that offering flexible working could help reverse this trend in emerging markets. Nearly two thirds of businesses in the EU (65%), wh ere the proportion of women in senior management roles is increasing, currently offer flexible working. This is well ahead of the situation in Armenia, wh ere 59% of interviewed business do not offer flexible work hours to women. -0-