Rabat - Morocco is ranked 11th out of 12 countries in a new study about female board membership in Africa conducted by the African Development Bank (AfDB).
Rabat – Morocco is ranked 11th out of 12 countries in a new study about female board membership in Africa conducted by the African Development Bank (AfDB).
The report, entitled “Where are the Women? Inclusive Boardrooms in Africa’s Top-Listed Companies”, has found that of the 12 countries included in the study, Morocco has one of the lowest percentages of women board directors with 5.9 per cent.
The African countries with the highest percentage of women on boards are Kenya (19.8 per cent), South Africa (17.4 per cent), Botswana (16.9 per cent) and Ghana (17.7 per cent).
The African countries with the lowest percentage of women on boards are Egypt (8.2 per cent), Tunisia (7.9 per cent), Morocco (5.9 per cent) and Cote d’Ivoire (5.1 per cent).
The company that topped the top ten list of highest percentages of women directors is Kenya’s East African Breweries, which had five women directors on its 11-members board (45.5%). It is followed by two South African firms, Impala Platinum Holdings (38.5 %) and Woolworths Holdings (30.8%).
The study, the first of its kind on female board membership, measured 2013 data for 307 companies and found that only one out seven board members in Africa is a woman.
Women make up only 14 per cent on the boards of Africa’s top 307 top listed companies, according to the African Development Bank.
The report has revealed the best-performing sectors for gender parity are the financial services, basic materials and construction, and automotive industries.
The AfDB said that one of barriers to more women gaining board seats is the lack of a transparent nomination process. “Majority of board appointments continue to be made in a largely informal process, based in the proverbial “old-boy” networks, fed by family, clan, school and business relations,” the bank said.
To increase female representation in boardrooms across Africa, the report made a list of recommendations for government, civil society, the private sector and African stock exchanges.
