RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Of the 408 companies listed on the B3 stock exchange in Brazil, 61% do not have a single woman as their executive officers, and 45% have no female representation on the Board of Directors, according to data collected by the Brazilian Stock Exchange in June this year, based on public information provided by companies in regulatory documents.
When considering the companies that register only one woman in some of the mentioned positions, the rate reaches 25% in top executive positions and 32% in the Board of Directors.
On the other hand, only 6% of companies report the presence of 3 or more women as executive officers, and this figure is the same when considering the Board of Directors – the study does not disclose the companies in each category.
Considering the specific segment of B3, the Novo Mercado, which has a stricter corporate governance standard, among the 190 listed companies 89% have only one or no women among their executives.
On the Board of Directors, 75% of companies in this category have only one or no women. The number of companies with 3 or more women on the Board is no more than 7% of listed companies.
The discussion and the disclosure of data gain importance in the face of ESG practices (social, governance, and environmental), which have been growing in the financial market with the aim of increasing diversity and bringing more equity in various aspects, including gender.
The IBGE’s Social Indicators of Women in Brazil show that women represent more than half of the Brazilian population, and despite having, on average, higher education levels, they are less represented in management positions (37.4%) and receive approximately 77% of the average salary of men.
“I believe that the result of this research shows that despite a growing concern from investors and companies, we have much work to do in order to advance the diversity and inclusion agenda. This demands focus, strategy, and commitment from us all,” says B3 CEO Gilson Finkelsztain.
But the road is still long: since 2010 there have been legislative initiatives trying to increase gender diversity in the Boards of publicly held companies, but the results are not yet as encouraging as they could be.
“We are certain that the data portrayed in this survey are far from what we aim for our market […] But the increased relevance of this issue is noticeable, with companies being increasingly challenged by employees, consumers, investors, customers and partners to represent values that they uphold and mirror the diversity of our population,” says B3 in the study.
This year, the update of B3’s IG-Sest (the state-owned companies’ governance indicator) included new questions on the subject with the aim of fostering the debate.
In the U.S., the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) regulatory agency approved a rule for diverse boards in the Nasdaq technology exchange. In practice, the rule stipulates that listed companies must have a board with at least two executives considered diverse.
As a general rule, one must be a woman and the other must belong to other minorities in society, such as blacks and the LGBTQI+ community. Should companies fail to comply, they must provide a justification, which will be publicly disclosed.