On 2 June 2017 Executive Director of Microfinance Organization Asian Credit Fund LLP Zhakupova Zhanna participated in the training “Excellent style of women behaviour in the boards of directors”. Training was developed by the experts of the International Financial Corporation (IFC) for women-leaders and women who plan to become the members of the boards of directors.
According to the study of gender disbalance in the bank sector of Kazakhstan held by Gradislava Akhmetova, Consultant under the IFC Project on corporate management in the Central Asia, share of the boards of directors with participation of women-directors in Kazakhstan banks is 47%. However, the average number of women in the boards of directors is only 0.16 people. A woman takes the position of the chairman of the board of directors only in one of 38 banks. There are no women in the boards of directors and in the managing board in three banks. This study shows that there is so called “glass ceiling” in Kazakhstan banks which limit women promotion in management hierarchy.
Credit Suisse (Credit Suisse Research Institute) carried out the study among 2400 companies which have women in the board of directors for the period since 2005 until now. The main conclusion of the study: women in the board of directors contribute to achievement of higher results. For the last 6 years, dynamics of the shares of the companies whose boards of directors include at least one woman exceeds the results of similar companies without women in the board of directors by 26%. Certainly, such data are unlikely to be considered as a trend but they confirm that balanced composition of the board of directors increases stability of the Company.
Employees of Governance & Management Consulting Company which is the organizer of training are sure that participation of women in the board of directors is not the issue of fairness and equality but a possibility for the companies to achieve higher results. Therefore, such issues as women behaviour influencing increase of efficiency of the board of directors work and use of emotional intelligence skills in the decision-making process were considered at training in addition to the issue of communication and women interaction with other members of the board of directors.