A Comparative Analysis of Women’s Role and Significance Within Enterprises Across Diverse World Regions

This chapter aimed to assess the role of women in enterprises in various world regions. Three research questions were developed within the study. The first concerned whether the percentage of companies with women in ownership (WPinO) differs in different regions of the world. The second research question addressed whether the percentage of companies with women in top management (WTM) varies around the world. The third question explored whether the percentage of workers employed full-time who are women (F-TWW) differs across global regions. The countries were divided into six regions, i.e. East Asia and Pacific (EAaP), Europe and Central Asia (EaCA), Latin America and Caribbean (LAaC), Middle East and North Africa (MEaNA), South Asia (SA) and Sub-Saharan Africa (S-SA). The data for the analysis were obtained from the Enterprise Surveys database maintained by the World Bank. In response to the research questions, it was stated that there are differences in the significance of women in enterprises in different regions of the world. Homogeneous groups were also identified in the research process. For the first and second research questions, these groups are: EAaP and LAaC (highest percentage), EaCA and S-SA (average percentage), MEaNA and SA (lowest percentage). In the third research question, the groups identified were: EAaP, EaCA and LAaC (higher percentage) and MEaNA, SA and S-SA (lower percentage). The research also reveals that F-TWW is higher in regions with higher WPinO and WTM.