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Summary
- Achieving gender equality is one of the goals of the UN for a peaceful and better world.
- The year 2020 has witnessed an increase in women leaders, as Fortune 500 data suggested 37 of the companies have female CEOs.
- Citibank is the first major bank in Wall Street to appoint a female boss, with Briton Jane Fraser to succeed current chief Michael Corbat once he retires in February 2021.
- Studies indicate that women leadership is not only good for corporates but also for society, as women leadership regulates corporate social responsibilities and contributes more to charitable funds.
In its 2030 sustainable development plan, the United Nations has outlined 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) that need urgent action by all for peace and prosperity for people and the planet. One of its goals is gender equality. It means that the world should work towards achieving gender equality, empowering all women and girls, which will have a significant impact on the creation of a better world.
There has been growing debate over how board diversity benefits firms. This progress has been gradual, but of late, it has been picking up and taken seriously by businesses. Women are considered as multitaskers, and as evident, they are going up the ladder. Policies are being tweaked to make women go up at the top of the ladder.
In 2020, there has been a notable surge in the number of women running America's largest corporations. As per the Fortune 500 data, 37 of the leading Fortune 500 companies in 2020 have female CEOs. However, there is still a long road to go, as this number is only 7.4 per cent of the 500 businesses on the ranking.
The Male-Dominant Top Leadership in Wall Street Gets A Female Face
Latest news in the series is that Citigroup became the first prominent Wall Street bank to have a female boss. This move is significant also because Wall Street has been traditionally considered male dominant at its top positions.
Citigroup has announced that once current chief Michael Corbat retires from Citi and steps down from its Board of Directors in February 2021, Briton Jane Fraser will be the next chief executive.
Scotland-born, Ms Fraser, 53, joined Citigroup in the year 2004 in its Corporate and Investment Banking division. Presently, she is serving as the President and CEO of Global Consumer Banking division, managing consumer businesses in 19 countries.
She began her career at Goldman Sachs in the Mergers & Acquisitions department, London. Later she also worked for Asesores Bursátiles in Madrid, Spain. Before entering Citi, she was a partner at McKinsey & Company. Ms Fraser has been a rising star in the corporate world. Another top US bank, Wells Fargo also recently considered her for the role of Chief Executive.
Citibank has enormous expectations from this leader, and the Chair of the Board of Directors John Dugan has stated that Ms Fraser would take Citibank to the next level. She has a deep understanding of the Group across the lines of business and regions. She is known for her strategic thinking, fondness for practical jokes and leadership skills.
Her predecessor, Michael Corbat, served as the Group's CEO for the last eight years. He has been a veteran with the bank and served for more than 37 years at the bank.
Women Leaders Shining At The Top
Recently, General Motors Co. first female CFO Dhivya Suryadevara left the automaker to join as the CFO of a global technology company that is into digital payments, Stripe.
Similar to Wall Street, the automobile sector is also considered a male-dominated industry. Hence, this appointment was even more crucial from a gender equality point of view.
Why Celebrate Women Leadership?
Studies suggest that indeed there are benefits of gender equality at the workplaces. Gender-inclusive leadership and corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices enhance corporate philanthropy. Corporates that understand this and welcome women executive leaders at the top levels contribute more to charitable funds.
Furthermore, more women leaders positively enhance other CSR practices, such as environmental issues. Hence, women leaders are suitable for businesses as well as for better society. Women leaders have also proved to do better jobs at the board practices with enhanced shareholder accountability, strong financial performance, and better legal compliance. Hence, we can say that this practice is not only significant for corporates but of national interest.
Though such reports track the gender equality progress of the company, in most of the cases, there seem no clear definitions for analysing gender equality. In practice, not all companies include these gender data. Moreover, some only enter the necessary information with no reporting of equal pay, employment, and career development opportunities.
Though there have been some improvements around gender diversity at the workplace, there seems a lot more work needed to be done to accelerate women into leadership positions. Businesses need to be more proactive towards creating opportunities and drafting policies around advancing women at the workplace. Things can change over time!
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