Despite the global shortage of top talent, women are still struggling to make it to the top, writes
Evelyne Sevin, head of the Diversity Council at Egon Zehnder International, in an article for the
FT weekend magazine. According to surveys on the topic, reasons for the shortage of female chief executives include "glass ceilings," educational biases (especially in sciences), the double-burden of combining a high-flying career with a family and the dilemma of advancement requiring overseas postings. "But this long list only partly explains why the talent pool appears so shallow. We can do more," argues Sevin.
In her opinion, responsibility for increasing diversity must be shared by men and women and should begin with education, talent development, team and board reviews. In particular, "Boards should start taking gender diversity seriously, incorporating it in CEO succession planning models," says Sevin. While relevant competences should remain the key recruitment criteria for any position, the value of diversity per se should be more widely recognized. "We know that diverse teams are the most effective and powerful ones," Sevin concludes.
Egon Zehnder International worked exclusively with the FT to compile its first ranking of the
50 top women in world business.
