73% of employers in Asia Pacific lack a strategy for developing women leaders:Mercer

More than two-fifths of the employers surveyed said their organisations do not offer any activities or programmes targeted to the development needs of women leaders.

According to the Women's Leadership Development Survey, conducted by Mercer, despite growing interest in workforce diversity among organisations in Asia Pacific countries, the majority (73%) do not have a defined strategy or philosophy for the development of women into leadership roles.

The survey, which was conducted in December 2010, received responses from more than 200 human resource, talent management and diversity leaders at organisations across APAC. The survey included a broad cross-section of industries, with for-profit services, high-tech/telecommunications, government/public sector and durable manufacturing organisations representing the largest segments. Responses, which addressed current commitment and support for women’s leadership, plans for the future and obstacles for success, were fairly consistent with those from North America and Europe, the Middle East and Africa – the other regions surveyed.

According to the Mercer survey, organisations in APAC do not have sufficient programmes to maintain adequate levels of talented women in the leadership pipeline. More than two-fifths (42%) of the employers surveyed indicated that their organisations do not offer any activities or programmes targeted to the development needs of women leaders. While 23% of APAC organisations said they offer some activities or programmes, another 9% of the organisations said they are planning to add programmes and activities in the future, which surpassed the survey’s global average of 6%.

“Asia Pacific organisations aren’t necessarily failing to address women’s leadership development specifically. They just may not be satisfactorily addressing a larger talent management issue in general,” said Brenda Wilson, Leader of Mercer’s Human Capital Talent Management segment in Asia Pacific. “While there has been tremendous economic growth recently in Asia Pacific, many organisations are still not where they want to be with some of the fundamental management aspects of human resources, such as segmenting critical roles or high-potential talent, regardless of gender. Given the well-documented labor shortage across the region, failure to actively groom women throughout the leadership pipeline can result in a huge risk. If it’s done well, it can represent a vast opportunity.”

"Given the well-documented labor shortage across the region, not actively grooming women throughout the leadership pipeline can result in a huge risk; yet if done well can represent a vast opportunity," Ms Wilson Added.

As a result of not having a clearly defned strategy, the climate of support for developing women leaders is mixed. Less than half (46%) of survey respondents said their organisations support development to a moderate extent, while 27% said their organisations support development to a great extent, which was significantly higher than the global average of 19%.

"As organizations in the region embrace diversity management technques in general, they will start to reap the business value of having women (and other diverse work groups) on their leadership team," explained Ms Wilson.

Programs for developing women leaders

According to Mercer's survey, the top programs listed by organisations that are currently offered specifically targeting the needs of women leaders were flexible work arrangements (69%), coaching (45%) and mentoring (45%), and diversity sourcing and recruiting (43%).

Notable, the same four programs listed by survey respondents as beng offered specifically for women - flexible work arrangements, coaching and mentoring, diversity sourcing and recruiting - were also identified as the most effective in developing women leaders.

When asked about their level of concern regarding various aspects of women in leadership, the top three issues ranked "very concerned" were retaining women once they reach leadership levels and havnig work-life programs that attract and retain women (20%), followed by having women develop the full range of skills necessary for a senior leadership position (18%).

"As organizations' diversity management techniques become more sophisticated, executive mentorship programs will improve, helping women transition into leadership roles and creating a competitive advantage for the company," said Ms Wilson.

Challenges for women leaders

Organisations' lack of gender-specific development or leadership programs has not gone unnotices. Survey respondents said the women in their organizations believe the organization provides only moderate (38%) or minimal (28%) support for women leaders. However, 21% said women perceived the organizational support to be strong in APAC, which exceeded the global average of 13%.

Of those survey respondents who said their organizations provide some type of gender-specific development or leadership programs, about three-fifths reported that the programs were moderately utilized by women in the organization. Just 4% said the programs were utilized extensively, while 4% said they were not utilized at all.

"Many organizations have talented women," said Ms Wilson. "Yet, to begin advancing them into leadership rles, they need a strategy that includes developing women as well as changing the organization's corporate culture to recognize the value of diversity management."