By Yvette Mucharraz y Cano * and Karla Cuilty Esquivel **
Just 10% of companies have a woman in office of the General Directorate or in the position of maximum executive responsibility (Top Manager) in accordance with the World Bank Survey Made between 2022 and 2023 for Mexico. Also, only 6% of the total companies are totally female, 10% have mixed capital, that is, men and women, while 84% are exclusive to male capital. These figures, although limited, allow us to observe trends in the low economic participation of women.
The World Bank Survey allows comparatively understanding the business environment in 159 countries, with special attention to female participation in corporate leadership and its challenges in the business field. For him Mexican casethis effort included the response of More than 1,300 companies distributed in different economic sectors and geographical regions.
In the case of directives, the 2008 is presented as a turning pointsince from that moment on there is a growth with greater dynamism of the presence of women in positions. This change could be related to the “General Law for Equality between Women and Men (2006)”, which aims to guarantee equal opportunities between men and women, both in the public and private sphere.
The data confirms certain traditional patterns in relation to the industries where the general directors are inserted as is the case of food and beverages, representing 29% of the general or similar directions; They are followed by clothing and textile companies, with 19%, and those dedicated to retail sale, with 15%.
The geographical distribution of women in general management positions also offers revealing data. The North region of the country stands out as the area with the highest proportion (37%), followed by Mexico City with 26%, which reflects greater opening and business development in these areas. In contrast, the Centro (16%), Central-Norte (13%) and South (8%) regions show a lower presence of women in these roles, which could be linked to factors such as lower access to business networks, educational or cultural limitations, and lack of support policies to female leadership.
Regarding Size of women led by womenit is observed that, on average, women lead smaller organizations. Companies with a general director have a range of employees that runs from 5 to 270 people, with an average of 25 collaborators in charge. In comparison, men at the head of companies tend to lead larger organizations, with an average of 92 employees, and in some cases, up to 1,680 people under their direction.
As for Labor inclusion metrics by sexthe results are encouraging for Companies led by women. These organizations show a greater proportion of women within their permanent workforce, With 48%, in contrast to 37% in companies led by men. This difference is also reflected in temporary hiring, where women’s directives employ 52% of collaborators, while their male counterparts report 41%, which some disadvantages due to the lack of access to a better salary, greater stability and better benefits. It would be interesting to do an analysis to identify whether women in leadership positions tend to promote more equitable job environments and with flexible schemes.
In summary, although the presence of women in senior management positions in Mexico remains limited, the data of this survey and others of the CIMAD investigations reveal significant advances and some areas of opportunity. Foster the Visibility of talent of women within companies, as well as Family-Work Conciliation Policies y flexible schemes They will contribute to accelerate parity in business decision making, thus strengthening a more fair and competitive ecosystem.
About the authors:
* Professor of the Personnel Management Area and Director of the Women’s Research Center in the Senior Directorate of IPade Business School.
** Researcher at the Women’s Research Center in the Senior Directorate of IPade Business School.
The opinions expressed are only the responsibility of their authors and are completely independent of the position and the editorial line of Forbes Mexico.
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