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More women at Eskom could up its game - index

Johannesburg - Although EY's Women in Power and Utilities Index 2016 puts Eskom in 6th place out of the top 20 most gender-diverse power and utilities (P&U) in the world, it is time to put gender on the agenda, according to Claire Lawrie, EY Africa energy lead.

According to the index, gender parity progress is slow in the global power and utilities sector, with the number of women in board positions rising just 1% in the last three years.

"It is unfortunate that, with the pace currently adopted, it will take 72 years to reach 40% women on boards in the P&U sector. That’s too long,” said Norman B. Ndaba, EY power & utilities sector leader.

P&U companies must, therefore, address the things that are frustrating the achievement of better diversity in boardrooms - especially as EY's research shows that the most gender-diverse companies outperformed the least gender-diverse companies by 14.8% on return on equity.

"In these times of disruptive change, as the sector undergoes fundamental transformation, diverse leadership teams make good business sense. While diversity comes in many forms beyond gender, getting women into leadership is an obvious starting point for P&Us," said Lawrie.
 
"Therefore, putting gender higher up on a companies’ agenda makes good business sense, and the end result will be a better working world for all."

READ: Eskom 'bad planning' punishes consumers - Salga

She added that, while diversity comes in many forms - age, ethnicity, sexual orientation and nationality - ensuring that women are present at the boardroom table is an important starting point for utilities.

“Women in leadership is a business issue. It is not just a female issue – given that diversity is linked to company performance. More companies should start measuring and reporting on gender diversity in leadership," she emphasised.

The index also listed the top 200 P&U companies with the most gender diverse workforces in the Africa and Middle East region and placed Eskom at 6th place here too and Mozambique’s Electricidade de Moçambique at 53rd.  

The index identified the largest 200 utilities by revenue and ranked them according to representation of women in executive positions. It found only 25 women in board executive positions globally (5%).

The research also showed women occupy just 19% of non-executive board positions and 14% of senior management team (SMT) roles. The proportion of women in SMT roles was the only statistic to increase each year from 12% in 2014 and 13% in 2015.

With 345 women out of a total of 2 149 positions (16%) currently in board roles, it will take 515 more women appointed to reach just 40% representation. And to grow from the existing 5% women in board executive roles to 10% requires another 24 women to be appointed.
 
Regionally, the Americas have the highest percentage of female board executives (led by Latin America with 9%), followed closely by Europe (7%), with Africa and Middle East at 6%. These regions also top the list for the percentage of women in non-executive board roles. Asia-Pacific had the lowest percentage of women board executives at just 3%.
 
“Ensuring that women are present at the boardroom table is an important starting point for utilities. Board executives are where the greatest influence and decision-making power on a board reside. They are the people running the assets. For women to make real inroads into the business of P&Us, they must be represented among board executives," said Ndaba.

READ: Gender teamwork can spur SA's economic growth

When a company has more women on its board of directors, it can generate a 36% higher return on equity, according to the findings of a survey released by MSCI, a US based independent provider of insights and tools for institutional investors, in December last year.

Christelle Colman, CEO of MUA Insurance Acceptances, said this research clearly indicates the benefits for companies to have more women in leadership positions.

She pointed out that a local report, the 2015 SA Women in Leadership Census released by the Businesswomen’s Association of SA, indicated that only 8.79% of JSE-listed companies have 25% or more female in director positions.

She said there are a number of reasons why relatively few women occupy top level positions in South Africa’s boardrooms.

“While it may seem controversial to say so, many women choose not to occupy higher positions in the business world due to gender stereotypes which demands that women fulfil all the duties of being the homemaker or that in certain industries they are simply not as capable as a man to fulfill the role. As with any kind of discrimination, gender stereotyping hinders all of us from reaching our goals,” said Colman.

In her view, in order to overcome gender stereotypes in the workplace, it is absolutely critical to acknowledge they do exist.

“It is important that businesses do begin to appreciate the value of having women in executive positions. Women bring a different dynamic to the boardroom and can offer a fresh perspective on how business is conducted. However, in order to facilitate further female representation at board level in SA, companies need to accommodate the differing needs of women,” she said.

ALSO READ: Why Nersa granted Eskom 9.4% tariff hike

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