Philippines Has the Highest Number of Female Executives

The Philippines Has the Highest Number of Female Executives in the World

Story by Esquire Philippines

19 May 2024

It's no secret that the Philippines has, err, some issues when it comes to gender equality and equity. Whether it's because of conservatism or just a lack of opportunities, women continue to struggle to find their place in the corporate hierarchy.

But apparently, the country still remains one of the more progressive places for female leaders. So much so that it had been ranked by the UK-based global accounting firm Grant Thornton first out of 28 countries in the percentage of women in senior positions.

Grant Thornton analyzed interview responses from companies in Asia, Europe, and America last year. This encompassed 4,891 medium-sized companies, with 90 percent of these businesses employing 50 to 2,500 workers. Top executives are defined as those in key executive positions, from the board down to various departments.

According to a survey conducted by the global accounting group, about 43 percent of top executives in the country were women. Compared to our neighbors in Southeast Asia, such as Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia, were ranked third, seventh, and 10th respectively.

As a matter of fact, Filipino companies have actually ranked higher in these surveys over the past couple of years. In 2022, the country was fourth on the list. Meanwhile, from 2020 to 2021, the Philippines placed first, too.

The top 10 countries with the most number of companies with women as executives are as follows:

1| Philippines (43.1 percent)

2| South Africa (42 percent)

3| Thailand (41.0 percent)

4| Turkey (41.0 percent)

5| Nigeria (40.6 percent)

6| Spain (40.3 percent)

7| Malaysia (39.6 percent)

8| Australia (39.6 percent)

9| France (37.9 percent)

10| Indonesia (37.4 percent)

The firm said that part of the accelerated shift toward a more inclusive management system can be attributed to the pandemic, as well. For four consecutive years, the share of women in management roles has risen to 33 percent.

To put things in perspective, women had only occupied less than 20% of senior management positions in 2004. Last year, they made up more than a third of these positions. While the progress has been incredible over the past decade, the percentage of female CEOs nevertheless dropped from 28 percent to 19 percent just last year.