38% GSE-listed firms have one or ZERO women on their Boards

At least 13 out of 35 companies listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE), representing 38% of listed companies have either one or no woman on their Board of Directors. 

Out of the 13, four have no women on their Boards at all, while the remaining nine have just one woman sitting on the board.

This is contained in the spreadsheet of the 2022 Board Diversity Index Report released November 2, 2022, by TheBoardroom Africa in partnership with the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE).

Per the spreadsheet, the four listed companies with zero women on their boards are Aluworks Limited, Republic Bank PLC, Hords Limited and Clydestone Ghana Limited.

In terms of the number of Board seats in these four companies, Aluworks and Republic Bank have 8 seats each, Clydestone has 4, and Hords has 5.

The nine listed companies with only one female on their Boards are Benso Oil, Cocoa Processing Company, Danex Ayrton Starwin Limited, Digicut Advertising and Production Limited, Fan Milk Limited, Mega Africa Capital Limited, Pesewa One PLC, and Produce Buying Company Limited.

Meanwhile, of the remaining 22 listed companies captured in the report, eleven have only 2 females on their boards; four have 3, six have 4 women, while there were no records for one company, NewGold Issuer Limited.

The six companies with the highest number of females on their boards (4) are MTN Ghana, Ecobank Transnational, Access Bank, AngloGold Ashanti, Societe Generale and Camelot. Of the six, only Camelot has more women than men on their board – 4 women, 3 men. Indeed, the Board Chair of Camelot is a woman – Mrs. Elizabeth Joyce Villars.

In total, there are 273 board members across the 35 listed companies, out of which 206 are men and only 67 are women. Meanwhile, 215 of the total are non-executive board members, out of which 156 are men and 59 are women.

This generally low numbers of women on the boards of listed companies accounts for only 25% female representation, which falls short of the research-based recommendation of 30% female representation to ensure that the voices of the minority are heard in companies.

Indeed, per research, 30% female representation on boards is also likely to ensure an average of 15% increase in women in Board Chair and executive roles.

In terms of the sectors that have more women in the boardroom, the report shows that advertising & communications, fast-moving consumer goods, mining/natural resources and telecommunications sectors have the highest numbers of women’s representation in the boardroom.

However, in terms of the aggregate number of women directors, the financial services sector outperformed all with 45% of all female directors in GSE-listed companies being from the sector.

Per the breakdown, women make up 12% of Chair, 13% of CEOs/MDs, 17% of CFOs, and 6% of COOs on Ghana’s listed boards.

The report observed that there has been an increase in the number of CEOs/MDs and CFOs by 1% and 13% respectively from 2021; however, there has been a decrease in the number of Chairs and COOs by 3% and 4% respectively from 2021.

It also notes that almost one-third (32%) of Ghana’s listed companies have boards featuring at least 30% female board directors, an increase of 3% from 2021.

It is important to note that TheBoardroom Africa (TBR Africa), founded and led by Ghana’s Marcia Ashong, has for a few years now, been working to get competent women into the boardrooms of bluechip companies in both Ghana and elsewhere on the continent.

So far, the membership of TBR Africa has grown to more than 2,500 women leaders coming from 2,067 organisations across the continent. Over the past 4 years alone, the company has placed over 70 women on boards and investment committees, 23 of these were from 2021 alone, and they are on track to place another 25 women this year.