Not enough of a good thing

According to the GMI Ratings’ 2012 Women on Boards Survey which covers 45 countries and 4300 companies globally, there are now more women on boards of directors than ever and the global average has for the fist time edged over 10% to 10.5. Better still, the percentage with the critical 3 seats has risen to 9.8% tantalisingly close to the magic 10.

Industrialized economies as a whole have 11.1% of directors  who are women, 63.3% of companies with at least one woman on the board, and 10.5% of companies with three or more.  Emerging markets have only 7.2% of directors who  are women, only 44.3% of companies with least one woman on the board, and 6.3% of companies with three female directors. But national figures also vary greatly: Norway has 36% female directors, Germany 13% , Japan 1% , South Africa 17%, China 8.5%, and Brazil and Italy both 4.5%. Interestingly the two big risers this year, France and Australia, both illustrate the importance of policy: France being boosted by legislation, Australia by a corporate governance code amendment, and a high-level mentoring program. The debate between legislation- or quota-driven change and reliance on inspired activism rages on.  Read a discussion of  the GMI Ratings Report from which you can follow a link to download it.