Women participation in Jordan’s boards of banks ‘too low’

AMMAN — While the number of women working in banks across the Kingdom has improved to reach 35 per cent, female participation in corporate governance remains at a very low 9 per cent, a report by the Jordan Strategy Forum (JSF) showed.

Highlighting that Jordan has one of the lowest female economic participation rates in the world, according to data by the International Labour Organisation, JSF noted that this low female  participation  rate  does  not  reflect  all  sectors.

With the average rate of female employees in the banking sector standing at 35 per cent, some banks recorded an even higher proportion of about 55 per cent, the statement said.

However, this “high” proportion is not represented in corporate governance, the statement stressed.

The study stressed the importance of gender diversity in senior positions to improve the financial performance of companies. Women bring in diversity of values, beliefs, perspectives and in attitudes that stimulate creativity, the statement said. 

In a recently published paper by the IMF, a total of 72 banking sectors were examined in terms of the share of women on bank boards and their impact on bank performance. The results showed that “banks with higher shares of women on boards are associated with greater bank stability,” the statement noted.