The United Nations Sustainable Stock Exchanges (UN SSE) initiative, in collaboration with IFC (a member of the World Bank Group) and UN Women, has released four new Market Monitors providing new data on gender equality. The launch included three benchmark Market Monitors analysing gender equality in corporate leadership and a Market Monitor analyzing stock exchange guidance on gender equality metrics. These reports form part of the SSE’s ongoing initiatives to support achievement of UN Sustainable Development Goal 5 on gender equality.
Gender Equality in Corporate Leadership: G20 and Regional Analysis
This is the fourth edition of a yearly Market Monitor which includes the 22 major stock markets found in G20 countries, organised according to the gender balance of issuers’ boards. This publication is an update of last year’s benchmarking exercise and covers over 2,000 of the largest listed companies in G20 countries. In addition to the analysis of G20 countries, the Market Monitor provides further analysis of 35 major stock markets (top 5 markets by market capitalisation) from 7 global regions. Together, these Market Monitors provide a global overview of progress and the current status of women in corporate leadership positions around the world.
Key highlights:
- 23% average female representation on boards across G20 countries and generally female representation on boards is rising with 28 out of 35 markets around the world seeing an increase in percentage of women on boards.
- On average, women hold 8% of board chair, 5% of CEO and 12% of CFO positions across the G20 markets.
- Euronext Paris (France) leads the world with 44% of issuers’ board seats held by women.
- ASX (Australia), with 37% women on boards, leads the USCANZ country grouping (US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand). Johannesburg Stock Exchange leads emerging markets with 33% female board representation. Bursa Malaysia leads South-eastern Asia with 29%. JPX (Japan) leads the Eastern Asia group with 19%. B3 (Brazil) and Bolsa de Santiago (Chile) jointly lead Latin America with 17% each.
- Male-only boards persist in many regions including 10 markets in the G20 with 20% or more of the top 100 issuers having male-only boards.
Gender Equality in Corporate Leadership: Eastern Europe and Central Asia
This review of 719 Eastern European and Central Asian companies grouped by primary listing venue across 11 markets, provides exchanges, regulators and policy makers with the state of gender equality in the leadership positions of companies listed on their markets.
Key highlights:
- On average women hold 20% of board seats, 13% of board chair, 7% of CEO and 38% of CFO positions across the markets analysed.
- Bratislava Stock Exchange leads the region with 33% female board representation and the highest percentage of female board chairs (43%).
- Over 25% of boards in the region remain male-only.
Gender Equality in Corporate Leadership: Latin America
This is the second bi-annual review of 734 Latin American companies grouped by primary listing venue in 10 markets. It provides exchanges, regulators and policy makers with the state of gender equality in the leadership positions of companies listed on their markets.
Key highlights:
- Women occupy 16% of board seats on average, 6% of board chair positions, 9% of CEO and 12% of CFO positions across the region.
- BVC (Columbia) leads with 20% of board seats held by women.
- Significant prevalence of male-only boards with five markets having more than 40% all-male boards.
Gender Equality Metrics: Analysis of stock exchange guidance
In addition to the Market Monitors and database on gender equality in corporate leadership, the SSE is launching a new Market Monitor on disclosure metrics. The Market Monitor assesses stock exchange disclosure guidance documents, and its findings underscores the importance of standardized, global frameworks.
Highlights
- Two-thirds of exchange guidance documents are providing guidance on specific gender equality related metrics for corporate disclosure.
- There are gaps in the metrics being recommended; they do not equally cover all key topics of gender equality identified by the UN Women’s Empowerment Principles.
- The metrics recommended by exchanges are not standardized, rather they typically have slight variations in wording from one exchange to another.
- More than half of metrics recommended by exchanges make reference to a standard or framework. But these references are inconsistent.
- About 40% of metrics recommended by exchanges are not linked to any standard or framework, highlighting fragmentation in corporate reporting on this topic.
To address the inconsistencies identified, this Market Monitor will be followed by a more comprehensive analysis and actionable guidelines for policymakers and standard setters, aiming to foster greater cohesion in gender-related metrics.
The Market Monitors are now available on the UN SSE website and are a focal point of discussion during the quarterly webinars on December 16th, 2024. They aim to serve as a benchmark for exchanges, companies, and regulators striving for gender equality in corporate leadership globally.
Gender equality is one of the SSE's main areas of work. The SSE, in partnership with IFC and UN Women, announced in 2023 a new training program that will provide capital market participants with capacity-building resources on gender equality. In 2022, the SSE published jointly with IFC and UN Women a guide on how stock exchanges can promote gender equality. The Spanish version of the guide and a benchmark on gender equality in major Latin American markets were also published in 2022.
