Women power new savings plan in Finland
Finnish banks today issued a new share-based savings plan tied to firms that have women in leading positions because they are more profitable.
The option, known as “Top Women”, is linked to a basket of shares of 15 companies worldwide, including 3M , Avon Products, Kellogg Centrica and TomTom.
Ilkka Pihlaja, product manager at Tapiola Bank said: “There’s been a lot of interest in this. Several studies have shown that companies with a mix of women and men on governing boards or management positions fare better than those led only by men.”
Last year, research by the US consulting firm McKinsey showed that in Europe only 11% of the members of governing boards of listed companies were women, but that those companies performed more efficiently than firms with only male members in leading positions.
Similarly, a study by the Finnish Business and Policy Forum in November showed that a company with a woman as chief executive was 10% more profitable than a corresponding company with a male CEO.
“So I think investors can rest assured. Naturally, if the markets weren’t so volatile as they are now, there would be even more interest,” Mr Pihlaja said.
Finland has one of the highest levels of female participation in government with 12 of the 20 ministers being women and 42% of the politicians in Parliament. However, less than 10% of all firms are headed by women.
