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World Economic Forum Senior Director Saadia Zahidi on efforts to close the gender gap in all levels of business.
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-- preparing a bold move to close of the -- gender gap in business senior judicial officials.
Are pushing for new rules that could require up to 60% of corporate boards -- to be occupied by women.
-- right require but our rules like this really necessary or are they what businesses need to really get on board with the closing the gender gap joining us now.
It's a -- of the GD she's senior director of the world economic form specifically.
In the gender gap discussion Eric thank you so much for being with us thank you had me at you know it's it's fascinating because I noticed that there are very few female CEOs at the fortune 500 level here in the United States but every time I talked to one of these women.
They tell me that there in the huge demand to sit on corporate boards does not mean that there is of a new sense of awareness at least the companies realize we've got to get somebody to represent 50% of the population.
Absolutely and what we know is that globally.
Health gaps are closing education -- -- -- what that means is the human capital base women and men are are equally present.
But then when you look at economic participation in political empowerment only about 60% of the cap on economic participation has been close.
So clearly that's a waste of all of that -- now in this country in particular we know that in terms of tertiary education women make up the majority.
So as you know that at as as companies grow and they look at the talent pool who are they going to tap into.
And if they then lose those women at the entry level are at the middle management level and don't give them the opportunities all the way to the top again that's a loss of human.
What quotas.
I know you deal with the globe in it and you're based in Switzerland in fact but in the United States.
The American public hates the idea of quote it's far I think very good reasons that they're arbitrary they're not seen -- Getting the good person any kind of business you want the best person.
No matter what gender that's front and at a quota seems to work against that.
Now a quarter.
Just by itself is a very blunt instrument but if you apply sort of this mark quota if you put that photo you give long enough time to meet that quota.
When that can do is -- of -- sort of enforcing -- but it means OK -- quarter.
So -- that is not saying tomorrow we must have 30% women are 50% women in this particular position because we know that pool doesn't exist.
What we needed may be okay -- -- -- a five -- target for 30%.
And that's how we slowly build up to it you start -- that women at the middle management -- so that they can go up -- scene for us to just.
-- actually showed that that companies that have women sitting on their boards of their stocks of return on investment actually out performs others in their peer group that set.
Does it not in a way hurt women who get pushed along -- with a woman let's just ever sit here and then they don't perform properly should week.
As into David's point say let's make it a real meritocracy and make sure okay think about it.
But make sure they actually.
Now absolutely I think quotas if they are bringing forward people who don't have the right skills who don't have the right talents.
They tend not to work they tend to backfire because people -- think well why are these people here.
And those women themselves don't necessarily want to be there on that waste on the quota they want to be there on their own merit.
But what we know is that the business case is getting stronger and stronger we know that teams performed better if they're more diverse we know there's less risk taking if if there are more women present -- their gender balance teens.
You know the company's bottom lines are better if they have Mormon NC leadership so they're starting to be all this evidence it's obvious thank you very much for coming in angry shouldn't punish.
Saudi is a beauty of the World Economic Forum -- to see it.
