Hong Kong's glaring absence of women CEOs revealed

Change is slow, despite efforts.

Despite efforts to increase gender diversity in the boardroom, change is slow, and this has been manifested in data from Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) based in Hong Kong and across the Asia Pacific, where it was noted that Hong Kong has no female CEOs.

According to a release from Qlik, a leader in user-driven Business Intelligence (BI), it has launched a new QlikView application that presents the anatomy of a typical Chief Executive Officer (CEO) based in Hong Kong and across the Asia Pacific.

It found that Hong Kong CEOs tend to be male, approximately 54 years old, and graduates of an overseas university.

Meanwhile, globally, women represent around 10% of all board-level positions worldwide even though they make up over 40% of the global work force.

The QlikView application reveals starker statistics: only 3.2% of the 250 CEOs measured are female, with Hong Kong recording zero female CEOs.

Here's more from Qlik:

These are just some of the key insights that can be discovered in the new interactive application called Where Do APAC CEOs Come From built using the QlikView Business Discovery platform.

Looking at the top 250 Asia Pacific-based companies listed in the 2013 Forbes Global 2000 ranking, the application pulled together information collected about the CEOs from these organizations. These include gender, age, universities, industries, and previous positions.

Phillip Beniac, Regional Vice President for Qlik Asia Pacific and Japan, said, “What this QlikView application provides is a holistic view of what it takes to be a CEO in Asia Pacific.

It is a fun way to gain insights into the ‘key ingredients’ that go into a making of a CEO. At the same time, it helps us drill deeper and ask important questions.

For example, where are we in terms of gender diversity in the boardroom and where should one pursue an education to stand a fighting chance of becoming a CEO?”