"Across Europe the proportion of women on company boards averages around 10 percent, though with large variations: from less than 1 percent in Portugal to nudging 40 percent in Norway, thanks to that country's much-cited quota system. America, at 16 percent, does somewhat better than the European average, and most emerging markets do less well."One reason is that female managers tend to work in so-called functional specialties (such as HR) rather than line management, which is the main hunting ground for the very top but often involves extensive travel and unsocial hours. More importantly, boards have traditionally been made up of white middle-aged males of similar backgrounds who are comfortable with each other and recruit new colleagues in their own image.
"Women, even if they can be found, "are a bigger risk," says Joanna Barsh, a director in McKinsey's New York office; they have a different style and are more visible, so if something goes wrong everyone notices. Some women find the culture of organizations so off-putting that they see little point in rising to the top." Read more in the Economist.
