Progress over past decade, but big gender gap in top posts of largest listed companies remains

The number of women on boards in the country’s largest listed companies has risen in the last ten years, but there is still a large gap between the number of men and women in such positions.

Data presented by the European Institute for Gender Equality, which is a European Union agency, shows that in 2016, 151 men sat on these boards, while there were only 8 women. Here, women made up just 5 per cent of board members.

This year, there were 197 men and 43 women, with women now making up 17.9 per cent of the board members.

The data covers the largest publicly listed companies in each country as per the primary blue-chip index, which is an index maintained by the stock exchange covering the largest companies by market capitalisation and/or market trades.

When it comes to company presidents, all 33 of them are male, according to the data.

“Progress has been made over the past decade, but a persistent gender gap in decision-making positions remains,” Commissioner of the National Commissioner for the Promotion of Equality Renee Laiviera told MaltaCEOs.mt, while pointing to the statistics.

She also mentioned that similarly, the share of women CEOs in these companies has risen from 4.5 per cent to 17.6 per cent over the same period. (from 1 out of 22 in 2016, to 6 out of 28 today)

“This gender gap is influenced by a combination of structural barriers, gender stereotypes and the unequal distribution of caring responsibilities, which can affect women's career progression and access to senior decision-making roles,” Commissioner Laiviera said.

She explains that addressing this gap requires sustained efforts, including promoting inclusive recruitment and promotion practices and criteria, strengthening work-life balance measures, supporting leadership development opportunities for women, and ensuring effective implementation of gender equality policies.

The NCPE, she said, will continue working to address the imbalance through policy proposals, awareness-raising campaigns, social media outreach, articles, and conferences aimed at highlighting the importance of women's equal participation in leadership and decision-making.

“A person's gender should never determine the career they pursue or the opportunities available to them. Inclusive and diverse leadership is essential to effectively address the complex challenges facing today's organisations and societies. I am in full agreement with Ursula von der Leyen statement: ‘Using only half of the population, half of the ideas or half of the energy is not good enough.’ It is not good enough for individuals, and it is certainly not good enough for society as a whole.”

Comparing the data with the EU average, it shows that Malta is lagging behind when it comes to both women on boards and women serving as President in the largest listed companies. In the EU this year, 10.9 per cent on average of Presidents of the largest listed companies were women, as were 36 per cent of board members.  But when it comes to CEOs, the EU average is lower than Malta, with 9.2 per cent being women.