The CIMA Foundation says “disaster don’t discriminate, but people do”. The journey to gender parity remains obstructed by a myriad of factors including culture, bias, misconceptions and attitudes. But if the Paris 2024 Olympics is any indication of the possibility, we may have hope that someday, there will be parity between the genders across the finance function, if not the rest of the enterprise, all the way to the C-suite and the Board.
The 2024 International Women’s Day theme of inclusion may be an appropriate starting point in the journey towards parity.
Looking at the finance function today Marisa Azman, regional chief financial officer for ENGIE South East Asia, sees positive advances and increases in participation by women from junior to leadership positions. However, she says these improvements are not equally distributed across levels.
“Statistically, when women start off their finance careers there is a 50-50 balance. But by the time you get to senior levels, you have approximately 15% of women CFOs. There is clearly still a challenge,” she continues.
“At ENGIE we have a managerial target of 50% women, and this is something we are really trying to achieve. It's even more important for companies to try to find a way to maintain this parity all the way throughout.”
Marisa Azman
Barriers to equality in finance in SEA
Asked what for her are the most common barriers faced by women in corporate finance, especially in Southeast Asia, she starts the list with an absence of role models. “Seeing is believing,” she contends. “Women need to see someone who looks like them in a certain role.”
The other barrier is inclusivity or the lack thereof in organisations. She reveals that at ENGIE, the Women Empowerment Network provides a forum to exchange views and gather feedback that gets escalated to management.
- Lack of balance and flexibility: Companies need to create flexibility around finance’s rigid timelines.
- Flexibility in recruitment: Especially in Asia, the recruiting process isn’t forgiving of career breaks – something we need to be mindful of.
- Pay equity: Women only earn about 80% of men. When recruiting we need to dissociate from previous salaries and break that trend.
Diversity – still a cause for concern
Azman concedes despite efforts to raise the importance of diversity remains a challenge today and an important issue to resolve. “Yes, it’s a crucial issue,” she starts. “We can be a little misled by the concept of 50-50 in recruitment.”
Recruitment is only the start. She says retention is just as important. “We are losing women along the way. In fact, many CFOs are external hires – we see a lack of internal candidates and homegrown talent. The question is: why,” she queried.
She asserts that women bring diversity to teams, and diverse teams create more inclusive cultures and better financial performance for organisations. “Women’s participation is most relevant today where the top priority of many finance functions is transformation. Transformation is about people management, and women can drive change,” she posits.
Opportunity starts before the first job
Asked where she felt women have an opportunity for growth, Azman acknowledges that certain fields are more male-dominated, such as finance, engineering, and technology, due to unconscious biases and cultural norms. She observes that even within finance and in the boardroom, there are certain areas where women are less present because of a lack of work/life balance.
Reflecting back, she believes that the issue starts much earlier. “In schools and universities women make up only 35% of finance courses, and the number is alarmingly declining,” she laments. “This is likely due to the industry’s perception – women choose courses that have greater balance or social impact. It’s important to change this perception at the educational level.”
Honing the next generation
In your experience where are women finance leaders excelling, and how should these successful professionals hone the next generation of women professional leaders?
Azman says women excel in creating inclusive work environments due to our firsthand experiences with marginalisation and bias. “We need to be role models for the next generation, empower them to speak up, dissociate from imposter syndrome (which is more prevalent in women than in men), and to not throw the ladder away when we get to the top,” she begins.
“Leadership responsibilities extend to everyone, including men. At ENGIE I had male leaders who showed me that there is a seat at the table for me. Mentorship is also vital; programs like ENGIE’s cross-departmental mentoring help develop well-rounded, multifaceted leaders,” she elaborates.
Mentorship
When asked for an inspirational story of a woman leader in finance, Azman recalls that her career has progressed largely in male-dominated fields. She opines that looking back success seemed to require playing like the men.
“Working with a female CFO showed me the power of the female voice and that balance is possible,” she confesses. “She was the only woman at the board level and demonstrated the importance of boundaries, saying no, and pushing back,” she started.
“When I needed flexibility, she (the CFO manager) managed the wholly male team to support me, which was inspiring. Seeing this balance firsthand was powerful, and it’s important for me to now pay that forward and help create the same balance for others.”
Measure
The success of any initiative cannot be ascertained without measurable results. So it is true in the case of the progress towards gender equality. Azman agrees adding: “You can’t improve what you don’t measure.”
First, measure recruitment to ensure a strong pipeline of women, like ENGIE’s 50% target. Second, monitor retention to identify where the ladder is broken and women are lost. Third, ensure equal promotion rates for women at all levels.
Fourth, improve representation to avoid concentrating women in certain roles (e.g. admin). Pay equity must be measured across bandings to ensure parity.
Lastly, constant feedback is key – employee surveys with targeted questions about gender equality and policies are important, for companies to continuously make changes along the way.
Click on the PodChat player to listen to Azman’s thoughts on filling the gender gap in the finance function, particularly in leadership positions.
- Looking at the finance function today, how have women participation across the function evolved?
- What are the three most common barriers faced by women in corporate finance?
- Is gender diversity a real cause for concern in the finance function?
- In which areas are women least visible/prominent and why? (unconscious bias)
- Our topic is Filling the Gender Gap. In your experience where are women finance leaders excelling, and how should these successful professionals hone the next generation of women professional leaders?
- Can you share an inspirational story of a woman leader in finance?
- Going forward, how can/should organisations measure progress towards gender equality?
