JSE comes out tops with best gender balanced board in G20

According to the recently released Stock Exchanges Gender Equality analysis report, issued by the Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE) Initiative, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) has the best gender balance on boards of any developing country in the G20. The report, released on International Women's Day, looks at the gender composition of boards from the top 100 companies by market capitalisation on each of the G20's major (22) stock exchanges.

11 Mar 2021

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“We are honoured to be recognised in the Sustainable Stock Exchanges report on gender equality. The JSE remains committed to promoting gender equality at all levels of the organisation,” said JSE group CEO Leila Fourie.

“It is important to acknowledge, however, that while this is a step in the right direction, significant work remains to be done in the global quest for gender equality. Leadership teams set an important benchmark for any organisation and thus have an opportunity and a responsibility to drive transformation,” said Fourie.

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The JSE’s listings requirements necessitate all listed entities to have a policy on the promotion of broader diversity at board level and to report against this annually. As a corporate, the JSE Board of Directors has 60% female representation, while 66.7% of the JSE’s executive committee are women.

“The SSE report also highlights the high quality of female leadership across the world. In particular, South Africa is home to a number of highly regarded female leaders who actively support gender equality and represent our country at a very senior level,” said Fourie.