Jamaica leads global women in business charts

Women empowerment in business takes centre stage in Jamaica as UN study reveals 60% of all managers are women.

Jamaican women have made big advances in professions once dominated by men, according to a new UN study. In fact, the report notes the Jamaica has the world’s highest proportion of female bosses.

"Women are the ones who are the main breadwinners. We push harder to earn," said Ravn Rae, the owner of a small business in Jamaica’s capital.

Almost 60 per cent of all managers in Jamaica are women, according to data from the International Labour Organisation (ILO). That figure even includes those who work for large companies and women that own their own business.

Nowhere else in the world has such a high percentage of women in management and it even puts developed countries of the west to shame. Out of the first world nations, the United States comes top as 43 per cent of all managers are women and Japan comes last with 11 per cent.

Women workers are top contributors to global growth

The study further illustrates that the number of women in senior and middle management positions around the world has been on the rise over the last 20 years. However, women continue to be under represented in the boardroom and this could be hurting the global economy.

“Our research is showing that women’s ever increasing participation in the labour market has been the biggest engine of global growth and competitiveness,” said Deborah France-Massin, director of the ILO Bureau for Employers’ Activities.

“An increasing number of studies are also demonstrating positive links between women’s participation in top decision making teams and structures and business performance. But there is a long way to go before we achieve true gender equality in the workplace, especially when it comes to top management positions,” she added.

Mrs France-Massin calls for action to be taken to improve the ratio otherwise “it could take 100 to 200 years to achieve parity at the top”.