Women’s inclusion in the Board of Directors A comparative analysis between the United Kingdom and Mexico.

Abstract

Gender balance in companies and more specifically in the board of directors has slightly improved in the recent years. This research is motivated by the interest of achieving an understanding from companies about the scope of having a greater number of women on the board of directors.

Mexico and the United Kingdom have a very huge difference in the rates of women on boards in each country. Thus, the research objective is to understand what are the factors that determine the differing participation rates of women in the board of directors in the United Kingdom and Mexico?

The research question is answered through a review of studies that have already been carried out in each country and additionally through interviews with women who are leaders in companies in both countries.

The findings show that it exist four factors that are the most influential in the number of women participating in the business world. Those factors are cultural, flexibility, the labour force that is the availability of suitably qualified member of the labour force, and family firms, in Mexico 83% of the companies belongs to Mexican families. (Encalada J., Martin Reyna J., 2017)

These results indicate how cultural variation is a factor of great importance in each country, since the United Kingdom is more aware of the problems that happen in the world and questions what they need to do to change them. However, Mexico is a country with a “machismo” culture where men are still seen as those who are dedicated to work and women are still perceived as ‘the housewife’. This makes the country more inflexible to change due to its norms and culture.

With this in mind, it is recommended to create an Institution in Mexico that regulates the number of women within companies in all positions and especially in the boards of directors. This institute should also help raise awareness in Mexican society of how important women are in the business world and to motivate them to continue developing their professional careers.