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Boost performance with women in leadership

ESG
Ida Kassa web profile 400x400
Ida Kassa Johannesen

Head of ESG investments, Saxo Bank.

Summary:  Though research shows that companies with more women in leadership positions outperform their peers, women are still largely underrepresented in leadership roles worldwide. The research points to those companies being more innovative, more socially responsible, having higher customer satisfaction and higher employee retention. Empowering women seem to be a win-win benefiting both women and society as a whole. Saxo’s Women in Leadership basket puts the research to the test by focusing on companies that advance women through senior leadership positions.


International Women's Day

Since 1975 the United Nations has celebrated International Women’s Day (IWD) every year on 8 March. IWD is about gender equality, women’s advancement and empowerment. It is a celebration of women’s rights and achievements over the years, so let us talk about women.

Women have come a long way, but not that long ago, women could not enjoy many of the rights they now have. For example:

  • Only in 1967, contraception was authorized in France.
  • Only in 1974, women were granted the right to open a bank account in the US.
  • Only in 1986, women were allowed to vote in nationwide polls in Switzerland.
  • Only in 2015, women were allowed to vote in local elections in Saudi Arabia. 
Since then, there has been significant progress. Women have taken leadership positions in governments and corporations, have traveled to space, led prestigious universities and won Nobel prizes. However, stark differences remain between genders when it comes to wages, wealth, investing and leadership. According to the World Economic Forum, in 2021, the gender pay gap in Europe and the USA was 12.7% and 22.1% respectively. The global gender gap score, the difference between women and men in social, political, intellectual, cultural and economic attainments, was 68.4% in 2023 for all countries. No country has yet achieved gender parity and it will unfortunately take close to a century before women can expect to achieve equality with men. The numbers are shocking, but this is the reality we live in.

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