Women in the Workplace

Forbes Insight has ranked Denmark #5 in the world in terms of having women in the workplace in its study released yesterday, February 6.

Denmark’s strong global rank can be attributed to the high percentage of women in the Danish workforce.

As an American living and working in Denmark, the results come as no surprise. The study found that the percentage of females working in Denmark is upwards of 75%: Putting it right behind #1 Iceland at 78%.

Denmark’s gender diversity and opportunities for women makes the country a very attractive workplace. And according to the study, a prerequisite for any country’s continued economic growth.

Studies show that greater economic equality between men and women result in reduced poverty rates, a boost GDP and better governance.

Forbes’ new study suggests that in order to improve female participation rates, governments should adopt a number of proven approaches such as flex-time initiatives, free or subsidized childcare, and tax breaks for married couples when both partners work. Many initiatives already found in Denmark.

Likewise, given Denmark as well as the Nordic region’s strong social support network, it is little wonder that Norway ranked as the most gender diverse economy, followed by Sweden, Iceland, Finland and Denmark. The lowest-ranked countries for gender diversity are incidentally, Pakistan, the UAE and Turkey.

Denmark’s lack of women on the board

While Denmark ranked #2 in having women in the workplace, in terms of having female board members, Denmark dropped to a surprising 12th place.

I remember a similar story about the lack of Danish female board members in the news some months back; the Forbes’ study confirms this.

Importantly, the trend is one that Denmark should quickly look to reverse according to the report.

Studies have demonstrated a positive correlation between women in leadership positions and a company’s financial performance. For example, in the Forbes 2010 “World’s 100 Most Powerful Women” issue, a study of the stock performance of the 26 publicly traded companies run by women on the list discovered that, as a group, they outperformed the market. On average, the 26 women-led companies beat the market by 28% and their respective industries by 15%.

For a nation to be competitive on the global stage, it must make use of its female talent pool.

The proportion of women who have climbed the corporate ladder and made it to board-of-director status varies greatly among countries. The nations with the highest percentage of female board members are as mentioned, Norway (36%), the Philippines (23%), Sweden (23%), Latvia (22%) and Slovakia (22%).

The countries with the lowest proportion of women on boards are Portugal (0.4%), Japan (0.9%), the UAE (0.9%), Korea (1%) and Chile (2.4%).

It is interesting to see such an advanced economy as Japan to appear so far down on the rankings. Its insular approach to boardroom diversity; the majority of boards are filled by Japanese men, with few women or non-Japanese, once considered its strength, may eventually be its downfall.

On the other hand, Norway’s leading position can be attributed to its being the first country to mandate a gender quota system for board participation in publicly listed companies.

What it means to your marketing

The study is definitely worth a read and consideration if you are in the marketing business.

With so many Danish women on the job, we should consider how we position our products, brands and services. The days of the Mr. Clean making a housewife’s day easier are long gone, at least in Denmark.

Are Danish advertising and marketing agencies acknowledging gender equality?

Please feel free to comment (and in Danish)




For the complete Forbes report