The document discusses the critical importance of gender equity in the workplace, highlighting how businesses tend to perform better when both men and women contribute equally at senior levels. It presents statistics indicating that while women are well-represented at junior levels, their presence significantly diminishes in senior roles, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region. It emphasizes that promoting gender diversity not only enhances organizational performance but also addresses talent retention and market competitiveness.

1. Making the
business case
for gender
equity
By Natalia Shuman
Asia-Pacific

2. /02
AcrossAsia,womenare
mosthighlyrepresentedat
juniorlevelsandhavethe
lowestrepresentationatthe
seniororexecutivelevel.

3. The same story repeats itself across every region in the world.
Why does this matter? Because businesses perform better
when men and women contribute equally at senior levels.
In fact, gender equity at all levels of organizations is not a feel-good, reputational
issue. It is not about being seen to “do the right thing”. Instead, for the world’s best-
performing companies, it is about competitiveness, productivity and performance.
The data tells a clear story: where there are significant gender inequities in workforces,
productivity and innovation lag. Given that we are all now competing in a global
market, this has become a pressing issue. For markets experiencing strong growth and
a limited talent pool, such as the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region and Eastern Europe, these
issues require particular and deliberate focus.
However we may individually think about the role of women in the workforce, there is
proof that they contribute to higher performance and can fill growing talent gaps in
emergent markets. If for no other reason, the way each organization deliberately and
successfully addresses the gender inequity issue should focus on delivering real results
to the bottom line.
introduction /03

4. To unlock the full potential of women in the global economy, we must start with
ourselves. We must begin to look at our own workforce and make the business case for
improving gender equity right here, right now.
This is your business case for improving gender equity in your
organization. This is why gender matters.
introduction /04

5. /05
Womeninthe
workforce:APAC

6. Many of the trends regarding the proportion of women in the
workforce across the APAC region reflect those in other
parts of the world.
On some measures, Asia-Pacific is gaining significantly better outcomes for its female
employees than other advanced knowledge economies in Europe and the United States.
Here’s how Asia-Pacific’s female employees fare at work:
• Women in the APAC region appear to be more aspirational in their careers: 42% are
seeking immediate promotion in APAC compared with 31% in Europe and 36% in the
Americas1
.
• Only one-third of women in the APAC region feel they have good prospects for
developing their career with their current employer (35%)2
.
• A McKinsey survey of business leaders revealed that, on average, 30% of the women
who had left organizations voluntarily did so due to family commitments. In India,
South Korea and Japan, that number is close to half.
/06Women in the Workforce: APAC
30% of women
leave organizations
voluntarily due to
family commitments.
1 KGWI 2013
2 KGWI 2013

7. • Malaysia is the stand-out performer in supporting gender diversity in the workplace
at senior levels across the APAC region. The percentage of female senior managers
in each country are:
– Malaysia: 28%
– Hong Kong: 23%
– Singapore: 21.5%
– China: 21%
– India: 9%
– Japan: 8%
• Asia-Pacific lags behind both Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and the
Americas in having women nominated to Board positions and in adopting diversity
policies and processes, as the two following graphs show. Clearly, the slightly higher
representation of women in senior leadership positions in Asia does not translate
to more women taking up Board positions, and this may be linked to the lower
adoption of specific policies to address the issue in the Asian region.
/07
Asia-Pacific lags
behind both EMEA
and the Americas
in having women
nominated to
Board positions.
Women in the Workforce: APAC

8. /08Women in the Workforce: APAC
Percentage of women
in the total workforce
in each country
Adoption of corporate
diversity policy and
processes by region3
Percentage of companies
with women on the
board by region4
50%
China Hong Kong India Japan Malaysia Singapore 2008
Americas Americas
EMEA EMEA
Asia-Pacific Asia-Pacific
20082009 20092010 20102011 2011Latest 2012
10% 10%
20% 20%
30% 30%
40% 40%
50% 50%
60% 60%
70% 70%
80% 80%
45%
24%
34%
47%
43%
3 Mining the metrics of board diversity. Thomson Reuters, June 2013
4 Gender Diversity Benchmark for Asia, 2011

9. /09
Diversityand
thebottomline

10. There are clear indications that diversity delivers measurable,
positive performance outcomes for business.
In fact, a diverse team will often outperform a homogenous team, even if the
homogenous team has better qualifications or more experience. And, the more
difficult the task, the more important diverse perspectives seem to be in achieving
good outcomes.
This point is clearly made in a number of influential publications, including
Scott E Page’s The Difference1
. In his book, Page points out that progress and
innovation depend much less on “lone thinkers with enormous IQs” and far more
on diverse people working together. He argues that diversity of all kinds is the
counterpoint to many inherent biases in our cognitive processes. Without it, we simply
default to what we know, which is not enough to see businesses through times of rapid
change and increased global competition.
/10Diversity and the bottom line
The more difficult
the task, the more
important diverse
perspectives seem
to be in achieving
good outcomes.
1 http://press.princeton.edu/titles/8757.html

11. No one can categorically say that having women in leadership causes better results.
However the numbers indicate that having both men and women in leadership delivers
results for the bottom line, as shown below:
• In an analysis of some 2,000 companies by Thomson Reuters, those companies with
no female board representation, on average, underperformed relative to boards
with some female representation. Of interest, all-male boards showed indications of
higher volatility2
.
• Women influence up to 85% of household purchasing decisions in the US3
,
which has implications for all markets and trading partners. Similar results are
found in most other parts of the world. Women therefore have consumer insights
that are particularly valuable and can provide consumer strategies with greater
impact for companies.
• Women, particularly in younger age groups, are now often more likely to be
tertiary educated than men of the same age. Access to this talent means hiring
and retaining more female employees. In Australia, 20% more women aged
25–34 than men hold bachelor’s degrees. Similar trends are occurring across
rapidly emerging Asia4
.
/11Diversity and the bottom line
85% of women
influence household
purchasing decisions
in the US3
, which
has implications
for all markets and
trading partners.
2
Mining the metrics of board diversity. Thomson Reuters, June 2013
3
http://www.deloitte.com/view/en_US/us/Insights/Browse-by-Content-Type/deloitte-review/fda8881dc918d210VgnVCM2000001b56f00aRCRD.htm
4
https://www.wgea.gov.au/sites/default/files/2013-04-29%20BRANDED%20FINAL%20businesscase%20for%20web.pdf

12. • Dow Jones research on US venture-backed, start-up companies found the
likelihood of success increases with more female executives at the vice-president
and director levels5
.
• McKinsey found that, of 89 listed companies it studied, those with gender
diversity in leadership experienced higher return on equity, operating profit
and stock price.
International Monetary Fund data also suggests that companies employing female
managers could be better positioned to serve consumer markets dominated by women
(CED 2012; CAHRS 2011) and more gender-diverse boards could enhance corporate
governance by offering a wider range of perspectives (OECD, 2012; Lord Davies,
2013). “What’s more, a larger share of women in decision-taking positions could reduce
the share of high-risk financial transactions that are normally conducted by male traders
(Coates and Herbert, 2008)6
.”
/12Diversity and the bottom line
Those with
gender diversity
in leadership
experienced higher
return on equity,
operating profit and
stock price.
5 Dow Jones (2012) Women at the Wheel: Do female executives drive start-up success.
6 https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/sdn/2013/sdn1310.pdf

13. /13
Womenareneeded
toretainknowledge
andprosper

14. Finding and keeping good people is a central challenge for every
organization. However, in a world where speed wins, talent is the
critical asset for any high-performing organization.
For this reason alone, businesses cannot afford to fail to retain and develop the talent
embedded in around 45% of its workforce. If it does, recruitment costs go up and
competitiveness falls. In Malaysia alone, a McKinsey study found that increasing the
participation of women in the workforce could potentially increase Malaysia’s GDP by
between RM6 billion and RM9 billion.
However, this is not just a numbers game. Developing a workforce that can predict,
analyse and adapt to market changes quickly and efficiently is now a key competitive
differentiator. And, having an internal pipeline of talent (the great people already
working for you) is the key to thriving in a complex, fiercely competitive market.
In fact, for many organizations, their internal pipeline is a more pressing issue regarding
gender equity than their external recruitment strategies. This is because, across all
countries in APAC and in other regions, we see the same pattern of women entering
the workforce in high numbers at junior levels, and working their way up into middle
management. At this point, something happens. Very few of these women make it up
to higher levels of organizations – and this is a global phenomenon.
/14Women are needed to retain knowledge and prosper
Very few women
make it up to
higher levels of
organizations —
and this is a global
phenomenon.

15. There are many possible reasons why this may be the case (more on that later), but
even if we can find reasons for the trend, it remains a financial and strategic business
problem. It remains a problem that must be solved.
Consider this: How much knowledge, experience and deep customer insight do these
junior and middle managers have? Doesn’t developing and promoting these people
make sense?
If we lose too many high-performing, loyal, junior staff or do not enable them to
progress, their knowledge and experience does not filter up into management
decisions. This constrains the organization’s ability to be both customer-centric
and operationally well-informed, and there are simply too many women that fit this
description to avoid considering the business impacts.
After all, the ideal scenario is always to fill a good proportion of senior leadership roles
with people who have worked their way up through the ranks. If we fail to properly
engage and mentor many of the employees that fit this description, we are losing out
on more than just financial savings. We are missing out on valuable knowledge. In a
constrained talent market, this is a particularly pressing issue.
Retaining talent and knowledge internally are also the top concerns on the mind of
CEOs according to 2013 PwC CEO Survey
/15Women are needed to retain knowledge and prosper
The ideal scenario is
always to fill a good
proportion of senior
leadership roles with
people who have
worked their way up
through the ranks.

16. /16Women are needed to retain knowledge and prosper
According to the 2013
PwC CEO Survey, more
than half of US CEOs
point to a shortage of
skills as a potential
threat to growth in 20131
.
72 percent of CEOs
report difficulties
attracting “critical-
skill employees”
and 56 percent
admit to problems
retaining them.
One in four CEOs said
they could not pursue
a market opportunity
in 2012, or had to cancel
or delay a strategic
initiative due to
talent challenges.
72%
more than half one quarter
56%
One third worry that
skills shortages will
hamper their ability to
innovate effectively2
.
one third
1 http://www.pwc.com/us/en/ceo-survey-us/workforce-talent-challenges.jhtml
2 http://www.pwc.com/gx/en/ceo-survey/2012/key-findings/hr-talent-strategies.jhtml

17. /17Women are needed to retain knowledge and prosper
According to a 2011
Heidrick & Struggles
study, 32 percent of Asian
executives were not
confident their companies
would be able to attract and
retain the staff they needed
in the next two years3
.
37 percent were
not satisfied with
the quality of those
they had hired in the
previous two years.3
almost
one third
more than
one third
3 Talent IQ, Tim Dupree

18. /18
Commonmyths
aboutworking
women

19. We have established that greater gender equity in the
workplace creates positives for organizational performance and
competitiveness. However, there are a number of barriers to
overcome if the business case for changing this is to be made.
How do we see women in the workforce? Here are some of the dominant myths about
working women and their ability to lead, and to contribute critical skills at a high level:
1. Women will always put their families before work and
our organization needs total commitment.
It is true that many women with families experience what is termed a “double
burden” – they must give 100% in the home as well as in the workplace. In most
parts of the world, women do most of the home duties and child-raising, and they
make up close to half of the workforce. Yes, many women will take same time out
from the workforce to have children, yet this is a relatively short timeframe when an
entire career is considered.
/19Common myths about working women
Many women will
take same time out
from the workforce to
have children, yet this
is a relatively short
timeframe when
an entire career is
considered.

20. More importantly, work–life balance is no longer just a women’s issue. Men too are
starting to consider excessive time away from their families as a major issue. Our
own research shows that men are in fact more likely to leave an organization due to
inflexible working arrangements than women (45% of men compared with 39% of
women). Other research conducted in Australia showed that some 37% of young
fathers had ‘’seriously considered’’ leaving an employer due to a lack of flexibility in
their role1
.
There are important gender differences in the workplace, some of which make women
diligent and loyal employees. Kelly’s own global research found the following:
• When asked about their immediate career goals, women are more likely to be
interested in gaining skills than being promoted: 59% of men vs. 65% of women are
seeking new skills.
• Women in the APAC region appear to be more aspirational in their careers: 42% are
seeking immediate promotion in APAC compared with 31% in Europe and 36% in
the Americas.
• Women are less likely to continue searching for new opportunities with other
employers when they are satisfied in their current role: 51% of men keep looking
compared with 43% of women.
/20Common myths about working women
37% of young fathers
have “seriously
considered” leaving
an employer due to
lack of flexibility in
their role.
1 Russell, G. and O’Leary, J. (2012) Men Get Flexible: Mainstreaming Flexible Work in Australian Business, Diversity Council of Australia

21. 2. Women are under-represented at a senior level
because they are less capable leaders.
In business, we tend to believe that we promote people based on merit. Yet, research
tells us very clearly that the concept of “merit” is subjective and prone to biases that
are a natural part of how our human brains work2
. We know that juries give attractive
defendants less gaol time3
, that orchestras hire more female musicians when “blind”
auditions are put in place4
, and that we tend to seek out information that confirms what
we already think (confirmation bias). The many different biases we are susceptible to
as human beings come into play when we consider who is more “capable” or more
competent for a leadership role.
When employees are asked about their experiences of being led their responses show
that women tend to show stronger leadership skills on virtually all fronts.
/21Common myths about working women
42% of women in
the APAC region
appear to be more
aspirational in their
careers than those in
Europe (31%) and the
Americas (36%).
2 Malcolm Gladwell, (2005) Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking
3 http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/2010/05/unattractive-people-pay-price-court
4 https://faculty.diversity.ucla.edu/resources-for/search-committees/search-toolkit/Orchestrating_Impartiality.pdf

22. /22Common myths about working women
Topmanagement,
executive,senior
teammembers
Takesinitiative
Reportstotop
management,supervises
middlemanagers
Practicesself-development
Middlemanager
Displayshighintegrity
andhonesty
Supervisor,frontline
manager,foreman
Drivesforresults
Collaboratesandworks
wellinateam
Individualcontributor
Developsothers
Establishesstretchgoals
Other
Inspiresandmotivatesothers
Championschange
Total
Buildsrelationships
Overall leadership
effectiveness by gender by
position (percentile scores)
Top ten competencies top
leaders exemplify most
Source: Zenger Folkman Inc., 2011 Source: Zenger Folkman Inc., 2011
Male Male
Female Female
0% 0%
10% 10%
20% 20%
30% 30%
40% 40%
50% 50%
60% 60%
70% 70%

23. 3. Women are less interested in leading than men are.
It can be convenient to explain the gap between women’s qualifications and their
representation in executive roles as being a choice that women make. Yet, when
interviewed, 80% of women in Asia said that they aspired to senior leadership
positions5
. An Executive Board survey showed that 45% of mid-level women in Asia felt
that rising to a senior management position is very important to them, compared to
less than 40% of men6
.
The Forbes 2013 list of most powerful women shows that there are now many
successful businesswomen in Asia and the list of new entrants from the region
continues to grow. Women in Australia also show the highest levels of business
ownership in the developed world – a strong sign that women can, and want to, lead in
the commercial sector.
McKinsey research also shows that when women are promoted out of junior roles they
become more interested in progressing further up the line of command.
/23Common myths about working women
Desire to move to the
next level at work
% who agree/strongly agree
79%
83%
Women in
entry-level
positions
Women in
middle
management
positions
5 Gender Diversity Benchmark for Asia, 2011
6 Building a Stronger Pipeline of Women Leaders in Asia, Asia HR Executive Board, 2012

24. 4. Women don’t speak up enough to get leadership roles.
We have heard from thought leaders, such as Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg and others,
that women need to change their behaviour in order to be considered for leadership
roles. While some of this advice may be helpful to some women, perceptions of
ambitious women being “bossy”, “difficult” and “aggressive” are cultural barriers that
even Sandberg and others agree are a problem. These perceptions are an issue for
almost every organization in virtually every part of the world. How do we know this?
Again, the data says so.
We know that, on average, men tend to rate the performances of other men more
highly than those of women. This is compounded by the fact that women tend to
underestimate and under-promote themselves and their achievements7
.
/24Common myths about working women
Perceptions of
ambitious women
being “bossy”, “difficult”
and “aggressive” are
cultural barriers that
even Sandberg and
others agree are
a problem.
7 Women Matter: An Asian Perspective, McKinsey

25. 5. It doesn’t matter if we don’t promote very many women.
GDP, global competitiveness and other financial indicators of prosperity strongly
correlate with women’s success in the workforce and equality in society. As the graph
on page 27 shows8
, the more gender equality a country achieves, the higher its GDP.
The countries on the left of the graph have made significant investments in
women’s health and education, which is reflected in their increased economic
and political participation.
However, no country has yet closed all economic and participation gaps for women.
We see the same inequities, albeit to differing degrees, around senior leadership
participation and earnings.
/25Common myths about working women
Research shows
that the reduction
in the male-female
employment gap has
been an important
driver of European
economic growth in
the past decade.
8 http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GenderGap_Report_2013.pdf

26. /26Common myths about working women
Relationship between GDP per capita and
the Global Gender Gap Index 2013 score
Source: Global Gender Gap Index 2013 and the World Bank’s World Development Indicators (WDI) online database, accessed May 2013.
Note: The Global Gender Gap Index has been truncated to enhance readability
GDPpercapita(constant2005international$)
Qatar
Norway
Iceland
Nicaragua
Philippines
Lesotho
Russian Federation
Brazil
Switzerland
China
India
Saudi Arabia
Pakistan
Sweden
Yemen
Finland
0.50 0.55 0.60 0.65 0.70 0.75 0.80 0.85 0.90
0
20,000
40,000
60,000
80,000
Global Gender Gap Index 2013 score (0.00–1.00 scale)

27. “Further research shows that the reduction in the male–female employment gap has
been an important driver of European economic growth in the past decade, and
closing this gap would have positive economic implications for developed economies,
boosting US GDP by as much as 9% and euro zone GDP by as much as 13%”9
.
• When women develop their full labor market potential, there can be significant
macroeconomic gains. (Loko and Diouf, 2009; Dollar and Gatti, 1999).
• GDP per capita losses attributable to gender gaps in the labor market have been
estimated at up to 27 percent in certain regions (Cuberes and Teignier, 2012).
• Based on International Labour Organization (ILO) data, Aguirre and others (2012)
estimate that of the 865 million women worldwide who have the potential to
contribute more fully to their national economies, 812 million live in emerging and
developing nations10
.
From a financial perspective, it does matter if women do not prosper equally to men.
/27Common myths about working women
9 http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GenderGap_Report_2013.pdf
10 https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/sdn/2013/sdn1310.pdf

28. /28
Solvingthegender
imbalancewith
TalentSupplyChain
Management

29. If we know that engaging and promoting women more equitably
in businesses delivers positive performance dividends, how do we
go about it without marginalising men and appearing to favor one
over the other?
The simple answer is this: you apply supply chain principles to your talent management
processes to ensure talent decisions are aligned to business performance outcomes.
Three simple steps to begin this process include:
1. Audit your talent programs and succession planning process: How many women
are on your talent program now? Are they receiving career planning support to
the same degree as male workers? What are the barriers to achieving equity within
these programs so that the pool of female talent is equal to that of men?
2. Keep measuring success: Do so regardless of whether or notyou are achieving your
goals. Communicating about the issue and its importance to company performance
is key. The more you measure the more likely you are to discover which parts of the
talent management cycle are problematic for retaining and promoting women.
/29Solving the gender imbalance with Talent Supply Chain Management
The more you measure
the more likely you
are to discover which
parts of the talent
management cycle
are problematic
for retaining and
promoting women.

30. 3. Improve work-life balance practices: Flexible working hours and job sharing or
remote work options need to be considered if women are to be able to take up
senior roles more often. Above all, this is because in Asia as well as virtually every
other part of the world, women still retain a greater share of the workload for raising
children and managing the home.
To make this work over the long term, however, organizations must consider the ways
in which they plan and manage their workforces holistically. When organizations adopt
more structured and measurable workforce management strategies, they make better
decisions about talent.
Kelly’s Talent Supply Chain Management (TSCM) process is gaining ground in the
Americas and Europe because it assists organizations to manage workers as part of
the broader supply chain. Like traditional supply chain management, it directs a
network of suppliers and resources to ensure the optimal mix of price, access and
risk. Given everything we know about gender imbalances and how they weigh
down business performance, applying Talent Supply Chain Management approach
is smart business practice.
/30
Flexible working hours
and job sharing or
remote work options
need to be considered
if women are to be
able to take up senior
roles more often.
Solving the gender imbalance with Talent Supply Chain Management

31. Complex global organizations would never forecast raw materials, pricing and
inventory using only a short-term outlook, and similarly they should not accept a
short-term approach to their most strategic asset: mission critical talent.
Talent Supply Chain Management helps organizations forecast their workforce needs
and plan for adverse conditions or events ahead of time. When organizations manage
their workforces more holistically, gender imbalances that raise risk and limit access to
talent are circumvented.
/31
Talent Supply Chain
Management helps
organizations forecast
their workforce needs
and plan for adverse
conditions or events
ahead of time.
Solving the gender imbalance with Talent Supply Chain Management

32. If your leadership team has a significant gender imbalance,
all the evidence points to your organization gaining positive
outcomes if this is addressed.
The data tells a clear story: Where there are significant gender inequities in workforces,
productivity and innovation lag.
In Asia-Pacific, as around the world, the challenge to find enough talented and
dedicated leaders to ensure companies to capture opportunities and remain
competitive is significant. Yet, if large corporations are to remain globally competitive,
we can no longer simply have good intentions about gender diversity.
Now, we need good results.
No organization can afford to overlook or lose great talent when economies are
growing and talent is becoming more scarce. And, unfortunately, all the data tells us
that this is exactly what is happening when it comes to female workers.
conclusion /32

33. /33
As a workforce solutions organization, we see this trend and we know our corporate
partners are struggling to fill key positions. Attracting the right people with the
right skills means looking at internal talent in new ways, and critically analysing the
effectiveness of existing talent management and workforce planning methods.
Good leadership is a key aspect of organizational success, and women are a critical
part of providing the kind of quality, transformative leadership organizations need
more of to remain competitive.
Women in leadership?
It makes good business sense.
conclusion

34. Other sources
/34
• Building a Stronger Pipeline of Women Leaders in Asia, Asia HR Executive board, 2012;
http://www.executiveboard.com/exbd-resources/pdf/en-sg/human-resources/Women%20Leaders%20in%20Asia.pdf
• Women Matter: Gender diversity, a corporate performance driver, McKinsey,
http://www.mckinsey.com/Features/Women_Matter
• GMI Ratings: http://go.gmiratings.com/rs/gmiratings/images/GMIRatings_WOB%20Report_042013.pdf
• Diversity & Inclusion: An Asia Pacific Perspective: Executive Summary, Mercer, 2012;
http://www.orcnetworks.com/system/files/static/2012/8238/diversity_and_inclusion_an_asia_pacific_perspectiv_28617.pdf

35. EXIT
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About the Author
Natalia Shuman is Senior Vice President and General Manager, EMEA and Asia Pacific Regions.
She is a global executive with broad general management and operational experience and
20 years in the staffing industry. Her career with Kelly spans all three regions of the globe and a
variety of leadership positions. Natalia thoroughly understands and appreciates cultural differences,
talent trends, business practices and traditions in both emerging and developed markets. She
is well positioned to consult with senior management of large and small companies on their talent acquisition and
management issues and to positively impact their outlook, helping them to grow and stay competitive.
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