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Women’s representation in decision-making positions in corporate organisation, especially as board members in companies, is key for such boards to get diversity of experience and perspectives to function properly and effectively.

According to gender experts, women are said to bring the needed diversity on board as they have diverse skills and experiences and this can drive growth, improve on performance, manage risks, attract and retain investors and deal with financial crises.

Forum

At a forum organised by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), with support from the University of Ghana Business School (UGBS) and the Swiss Embassy in Ghana, it came out that for a board “to be truly effective, it requires a diversity of skills, culture and views to make smart decisions with lasting impact.”

The Regional Programme Manager, IFC Corporate Governance, Ms. Chinyere Almona, said companies with more women on their boards had higher results.

Ghana, she said, was in 2015 ranked 53 out of 145 countries with women on boards by the Global Gender Report.

That, she said, was not encouraging as the country could do more. She stressed that tapping into the under-utilised resource of people increased growth in organisations and promoted the overall gross domestic product (GDP) of a country.

Launch of research

The Executive Director of Salt and Light Ministries, Dr. Joyce Aryee, who launched a ‘Women on Boards Research Initiative’ to be undertaken by IFC and UGBS, said, “Although there are no empirical data, evidence shows that many women are doing well.”

She said the research initiative was going to help in identifying women with potential so as to bring them into the limelight.

Presently, she said, a lot of women were “breaking the glass ceiling” not only to prove a point but also to make themselves available.

The Deputy Head of Corporation, Counsellor, Swiss Embassy, Mr. Daniel Lavventura, said an increased visibility of women at senior levels increased women’s ability to act as change agents in societies.

He said if an economy used only half of its talented people, it would lead to economic loss. “Corporate governance, including women on boards, leads to economic growth,” he added.