Introduction

This study continues The Committee of 20’s work to identify the most relevant, acute issues of women’s representation at various levels of management, including their career development and the realization of their leadership potential.

However, the objective of this study was broader: to analyse how leaders (men and women alike) actually emerge, what incentives push them up the career ladder and what barriers hinder their ascent to the peaks of power. We wanted to check how stereotypes (including gender-related ones) affect relations and priorities in the world of business. Many of the initially-suggested hypotheses were proved to be completely true, while others have been totally or partially disproved. Surveys conducted in Moscow and various Russian regions (over 140 respondents) and in-depth interviews with top executives yielded exceptionally interesting material. Only some of the opinions expressed during the interviews were included in this report; we decided to leave the quotations practically unchanged. One can agree or disagree with the views expressed by the respondents, but there’s no question that opinions of highly successful business people - and their priceless experience – deserve to be treated seriously.

A number of questions concerned women’s career development, stereotypes and barriers they face in their professional lives. Why is that especially important at this stage?

All over the world the numbers of women in executive positions are growing. There are outstanding women – presidents and heads of national governments and leaders of huge business corporations.

In the corporate management field, Norway is far ahead of other countries: it has a law according to which at least 44% of companies’ boards’ of directors members must be women. This initiative was keenly supported by Spain and France; executive teams in these countries are now much more genderbalanced, with women occupying almost half of the Spanish cabinet of ministers.

What is this - a fashionable trend, yet another equal rights campaign, the return of matriarchy, a new wave of feminism, or a vital need of the current times?

According to numerous studies conducted in various countries of the world, companies whose boards of directors have at least three female members boast much higher efficiency in all areas. E.g. the relationship between corporate performance and the presence of women in leadership roles is well documented in the McKinsey study Women Matter: Gender Diversity, a

Corporate Performance Driver, published in October 2007.

McKinsey researchers surveyed 101 large corporations in Europe, America and Asia. The study showed that once a certain critical mass was attained — namely, at least three women on Boards – companies scored much better. Another study, The Bottom Line: Corporate Performance and Women’s Representation on Boards (2007), found that on average, Fortune 500 companies with more women on their boards of directors turned in better financial performances than those with fewer women board directors. And it’s true for all companies, regardless of their industries.

Furthermore, the Groundbreakers study conducted by Ernst & Young in 2009 suggests that a diversity-based strategy, and balanced management teams (in particularly gender-wise) provide a competitive edge not just to companies but to whole countries.

However, if we take a look at women’s representation in the executive echelon we’ll see that there are still rather few of them there. Note that Russia is not at all an outsider in terms of, say, women’s participation in companies’ boards of directors. We’re somewhere in the middle of the rating, ahead of many developed countries like Austria, the Netherlands or Japan. Furthermore, according to Grant Thornton Survey conducted in 2009 by Grant Thornton consulting firm, in terms of women in management positions Russia is second only to the Philippines.

When we take a closer look at the issue we indeed will see many women in senior management positions. According to a study conducted in 2010 jointly by PricewaterhouseCoopers and Association of Russian Managers, Business

Career Opportunities for Women, 90% of all chief accountants in Russia are women, as well as about 70% of HR department heads. There are lots of women among marketing directors. These positions certainly involve serious responsibility, and often many subordinates. But if we look at the “decisionmaking level” we’ll see many fewer representatives of the fair sex there.

According to PricewaterhouseCoopers, only 9% of companies’ general directors are women; for boards’ of directors chairpersons the figure is 4%, for presidents - 3%. The fact that a very similar picture can be seen in many developed countries of the world – e.g. the USA – gives little comfort.

Like many other researchers, we ask the following question: why is the level of women’s presence in top executive positions so insignificant? Is it about the notorious “glass ceiling”, or is it a kind of internal barrier built by women themselves? Is there any “local colour” regarding diversity in Russia, or are we keeping pace with the rest of the world?

Here’s another example: Russia is still “leading the planet” in terms of education level. According to the Russian Statistics Service (data for November, 2007), 27% of all workers employed in the economy had higher education; 61% of them were women. So it’s not about lack of education, though the common wisdom is it’s one of the main barriers hindering career development in many countries. Another question is how efficiently the economy uses this exceptionally highly qualified workforce.

Here’s a quote from the 2009 Groundbreakers study by Ernst & Young: “It’s an efficiency issue because countries that fail to optimize their human resources don’t get a good return on their investment in human capital. For example, the overall educational level of women is rising, but you’re not seeing them go into positions where they can use their knowledge, so there’s no return on that huge investment. Similarly, corporations have diversity programs and spend time and money on women — and then they lose them or don’t optimize their assets”, says Laura Liswood, Senior Advisor at Goldman Sachs, co-founder and Secretary

General of the Council of Women World Leaders - an organisation of current and former women presidents, prime ministers and heads of government.

Here’s a quote from the 2009 Groundbreakers study by Ernst & Young: “It’s an efficiency issue because countries that fail to optimize their human resources don’t get a good return on their investment in human capital. For example, theoverall educational level of women is rising, but you’re not seeing them go into positions where they can use their knowledge, so there’s no return on that huge investment. Similarly, corporations have diversity programs and spend time and money on women — and then they lose them or don’t optimize their assets”, says Laura Liswood, Senior Advisor at Goldman Sachs, co-founder and Secretary General of the Council of Women World Leaders - an organisation of current and former women presidents, prime ministers and heads of government.

So this study is about identifying the factors which promote or hinder career development in Russia (including that of women). We will listen to executives’ opinions about what helped them to get to the top and what got in the way, and try to find out just how seriously social expectations and the prevailing stereotypes affect people’s choice of careers and priorities. A geographically and quantitatively representative sample allowed us to make certain conclusion concerning the current trends in the Russian society, and suggest ways to deal with certain problems. We’ve heard extremely interesting - albeit often paradoxical - opinions. Together with quite predictable results we’ve also got very unexpected or even shocking answers.

We’d like to express our deep appreciation to all organisations and people who supported this project and took part in its development, implementation and analysis. A big thank you to all executives who agreed to in-depth interviews, and to respondents senior and top managers from the Russian regions who answered our questions.

Everybody interested in discussing the results of the study and taking part in an open exchange of views, is very welcome.

Intellectual property rights to this study and its results belong to non-profit organisation The Committee of 20; if you use any of the data contained in the brochure, please make a proper reference to its source.

Elena Fedyashina,

Executive Director of The Committee of 20,

Project Manager