LatinFinance - March/April 2015 - 68

PARTING
SHOT
Businesses, governments, and entire countries
are losing a competitive edge that could make a
crucial difference to their future success, argues
Susan Segal

Leading talent
When it comes to gender parity in leadership positions, Latin
America is falling behind. Fewer than 5% of the world's largest
corporations have female chief executive officers. Women lead a
mere 1.8% of Latin America's publically-listed companies. As a recent
International Labour Organization report puts it: "Unless action is
taken, it could take 100 to 200 years to achieve parity at the top."
Three decades ago while working as a senior executive for a top
US financial institution, I was often the only woman in the room.
Back then female chief executives were rare and women on boards
even rarer, not just in emerging markets but also in my own country.
There has been some progress, but most women still find themselves
in the minority in their offices, departments, or even industries.
As I watch my own daughter begin her career, the question
lingers: what else can we do to bring women to executive offices, the
boardroom and politics?
We don't have the luxury of time, especially in Latin America,
where growth estimates are being marked down, at least for the
short and medium term. As domestic and external factors threaten
to erase the gains of the last decade, the private and public sectors
must capitalize on diversity to bring new perspectives which will
drive revenues and enhance competitiveness.
The case for increased gender parity in the upper echelons of
business and government is strong. Companies with more women
in their leadership enjoy better stock valuation and higher profits.
According to Catalyst, Fortune 500 companies with the most
women board directors outperform those with the least by an
incredible 66%, in terms of return on invested capital.
Different parties are in favor of different solutions, from legal
changes to steering girls to study subjects that are strongly correlated
to market demands.
Changes within the corporate structure are also necessary. In
private companies - and based on my experience in the financial
industry - moving more women into senior positions requires
incremental management focus from the top. Executives should
be evaluated for their success at identifying, mentoring and
sponsoring talented young women, and moving them along within
the organization. Shareholders are critical in making management
accountable for achieving gender diversity that will ultimately result
in improved performance and better financial results.
We need to stop thinking of gender parity solely as a function
of the number of women in an organization and look closely at

68 L ATINFINA NCE.COM - March/April 2015

where the female talent is
in the structure, to make
sure that more women are
in line positions taking the
appropriate rotations and
getting promoted.
Most urgently, board
leaders and their headhunters
should look beyond the
traditional qualified female
and male CEOs to identify
eligible women with diverse
backgrounds and expertise.
Setting goals for the
proportion of board seats that
should be held by women is
one possibility for companies
in Latin America.
At the institution I have
led for the past decade we
have created a forum where
successful women leaders in
the public and private sector
share their experiences with
rising female professionals
from across the hemisphere.
Through workshops and
roundtables in Mexico,
Buenos Aires, New York,
Panama, Miami and other cities, we provide a growing pool of young
female professionals with a space to find role models, mentors and
eventually sponsors who will support them and help establish a path
for their development.
The young professionals I have met over the past three years make
me optimistic about the future and the crucial role they will play in
the Americas. These women have the intelligence, the drive, and the
courage to be the next generation of exceptional leaders. But it is up
to this generation to take notice, and offer them a chance to lead. LF

"WE DON'T HAVE
THE LUXURY OF
TIME, ESPECIALLY
IN LATIN AMERICA,
WHERE GROWTH ESTIMATES ARE BEING
MARKED DOWN"

Susan Segal has been president and chief executive officer of Americas
Society and Council of the Americas since 2003.
http://www.LATINFINANCE.COM
LatinFinance - March/April 2015

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