Only 6% CEOs of the world’s biggest companies are women. In Poland women make up about 15% of board members in listed companies (the EU average is 25%), and they have a share of about 30% on the senior management level (in the tech industry it is a little less – about 20%). The also make up 1/3 of innovative startup owners. Among university rectors they are about 8% (until the last term there were none at all at this level). Research shows that organisations with higher participation of women achieve better results from the financial and managerial point of view . What are the determinants of women’s leadership in technology and science, and how can they be fostered? – this is the question that the creators of the “Women’s Leadership 2021. Technology, Business, Science,” i.e., the Perspektywy Education Foundation and the Citi Foundation asked themselves.
– “In 2021 we feel it as strongly as never before: the world is standing at crossroads. We need a vision for the future and completely new narrative. We need a new type of leadership – wide-perspective oriented, sustainable existence in the world, compassion and responsibility. More and more often, women are such leaders,” said at the launch dr Bianka Siwińska, the managing director of the Perspektywy Education Foundation and science director of the report. “This is clearly visible in the fight with the results of the pandemic, it can be seen during social and political protests. For the first time in history women are really utilising their full potential, changing the world and standing up for themselves. In Poland, in Belarus, in Argentina, everywhere you can hear their voice.” And we at Perspektywy Women in Tech make sure that it can also be heard in technology, innovation, and science.
Dorota Szostek-Rustecka, chair of the Kronenberg Foundation, noted: “This report is another stage of our deep dive into the subject of women’s presence in business, especially technology. In this report we speak about how important is women’s presence in leadership positions – this presence makes concrete capital today, which translates into companies’ financial results. If we look at it globally, the numbers are convincing: it is said that during the next 20 years the GDP will increase by 6 per cent, if women’s presence in the job market also increases. It is therefore in our economic interest to work on getting more women into leadership and the labour market. This report may help, because on one hand is gives directions to the women who want to be leaders, while on the other it is excellent material for organisations wishing to work on inspiring more women to develop towards leadership.
The report was created as a result of a study(a survey) conducted among 750 leaders (entrepreneurs, startuppers, managers in high positions in companies, scientists with managerial responsibilities at universities and research institutes,a s well as young persons demonstrating leadership skills during their studies). the goal was to analyse the phenomenon of women’s leadership in the millennial generations, which are the most active in the labour market.
The “Women’s Leadership 2021. Technology, Business, Science” report was created as part of the “Shesnnovation Academy” program, with the support from the Kronenberg Foundation. The report ebook (in Polish and English) can be downloaded from www.womenintech.perspektywy.org.
