More women in business leads to better economic performance

Tribune publiée par Business Times à l'occasion de mon déplacement à Singapour où j'ai ouvert le Women's forum Asia au c?té de la Présidente de la République de Singapour.

Women remain underrepresented in business and in leading positions. In France, only 15 % of them hold managerial positions; similarly in Singapore, women only occupy 25 % of the Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) jobs. Empowering more women to work in these jobs will be positive both for our societies and economies. A view shared by Halimah Yacob, the President of Singapore, who considers that advancing gender equality in business not only is an ethical issue, but also an economic and social necessity.

France made gender equality one of its key objectives of its G7 presidency in 2019. With the G7 Gender Equality Advisory Council, G7 countries decided to commit themselves to 79 good practices in gender equality laws and called on other countries to adopt asimilar legislative frameworks to empower women.

A first step to improve gender equality in the industry is to fight inequalities and combat prejudices. In France, the recently created Gender and Equality Council has the mission to improve the visibility and leadership of women in the industry. We need to encourage more women to choose to study science or maths. We have to promote role models in these sectors, so that young girls not only excel in these topics at school, but also embrace scientific and engineering careers. Improving the attractiveness of the industry sector also involves improving recruitment, management of female talents throughout their career, work-life balance initiatives and access to top management positions.

I welcome the similar measures that France and Singapore have taken to improve gender diversity on corporate boards. Since March 2019, French companies with more than 250 employees must publish an index on professional equality between women and men which takes into account the number of women in the top 10 highest salaries of the company. This measure aims at accelerating change and helping women reach top positions.

Empowering women is all the more important than the industry is going through a transition both in France and in Singapore. It is important that national reforms make sure that women will be fully included in tomorrow’s economy. With its “production pact”, France is restructuring its economy to increase the share of industry in the GDP to reach 20% by 2030 (from 17% today). Similarly, the Industry Transformation Maps from the Ministry of Trade and Industry in Singapore are also driving the industry’s transformation. 

This year’s edition of the Women’s Forum Asia will focus on how women’s leadership can accelerate changes in our communities, organisations and economies for a better future. I look forward to meeting with regional stakeholders to share good practices and also promoting the initiatives that have been successful in France. 

I am pleased to see some French people partnering with Singaporeans to empower women in the workplace and to improve gender diversity. For instance, the French Tech Singapore community has, for instance, launched the Women in Tech initiative with a series of events dedicated to the promotion of women working in this sector. I also welcome the very active “Women in Business Committee” of the French Chamber of commerce in Singapore which supports many innovative initiatives to promote women in business. 

Having more women in industry not only promotes gender equality but also has a real and substantive impact on the economy. Advancing women’s equality in the countries of Asia Pacific could add $4.5 trillion to their collective annual GDP in 2025, a 12% increase over the business-as-usual trajectory. Beyond the economic development, it also contributes to the social development of every country. Empowering women to reach their full potential is not only a basic human right, but has a real and substantive impact on the economy.

Agnès Pannier-Runacher is the current Secretary of State for Economy and Finance