OREANDA-NEWS. March 09, 2012. Just in time for International Women’s Day PwC Russia and the Association of Managers are pleased to present the results of their annual Career Opportunities for Women in Business survey, reported the press-centre of PwC.

The key findings are:

The past year has seen significant growth in the proportion of women holding key posts such as CEO and CFO.

Women are generally more loyal to their employers, less inclined to change their place of employment, more industrious and willing to work for lower pay.

Only 10% of companies surveyed have career development programmes or strategies in place for the women they employ.

More companies are offering women one-off payments on their return from maternity leave.

The proportion of women who stay out of the workforce for more than two years after having a child has fallen by 8%.

Almost half those surveyed said they view work schedules for employees with young children as the most pressing issue.

Overall, the proportion of women in key management posts increased.

The past year saw a significant rise in the share of women occupying, or who have been appointed to, management posts (42%), including such key positions as CEO (21% this year as compared with 13% last year), and CFO (60% in the 2012 survey vs 49% in last year’s survey). Predictably, the proportion of women working as chief accountants, HR directors, and marketing directors remains high.

More than half those surveyed said that strong company loyalty is one advantage that women have in employers' eyes. In 53% of the companies surveyed, women work longer than men; 40% of survey respondents noted that, compared with men, women spend longer in the same position and continue working without moving up the career ladder. Compared with the 2011 survey results, the share of respondents who mentioned this factor increased 13%. Only 20% of respondents said that men are likely to stay longer with one and the same company. In addition, 43% of respondents said that women applying for jobs are notable for their capacity for work and their industriousness. One in three said that women are willing to work for lower pay.

Of the respondents, 48% said that they believed the main reason why Russian companies do not run programmes to support women is either the absence of any clear need or a lack of interest among the company management.

Over the past year, the proportion of companies implementing programmes aimed at women and working mothers has almost doubled. More and more companies allow working mothers to work from home one or several days per week (45% in the 2012 survey, 36% in the 2011 survey).

The proportion of employers offering medical insurance that covers their employees’ children and families has significantly increased (35% in 2012, 21% in 2011). Employers have started paying more attention to professional development for their female employees, introducing coaching and psychological support programmes.

Over the past year, the proportion of companies running re-entry programmes for women returning from maternity leave increased only slightly, from 9% to 10%.

Compared with the previous year, the proportion of companies that do not offer payments above the standard maternity leave requirements grew 13% (45% in 2011, 58% in 2012). Of those companies that do offer such payments, the percentage  making monthly payments almost doubled (65% in 2012 against 38% in 2011). The proportion of companies that offer women one-off payments upon returning from maternity leave also increased (12% in 2012 against 3% in 2011). At the same time, our survey showed that the share of companies offering additional one-off payments to women returning from maternity leave fell from 82% in 2011 to 53% in 2012.

From 12 to 24 months remains the most common maternity leave period:

Notes to editors:

The aim of the survey is to examine opportunities and issues related to women's career development in business, as well as the dynamics of career opportunities for women in 2008-2012. A total of 82 companies participated in an email survey carried out over February 2011. February 2012 was the deadline for this research. Representatives of Russian and foreign companies working in Russia took part, of which: 18% – others. On average, the companies surveyed employed 8,300 people each. The research involved a survey that was emailed to respondents. For more information go to:  www.pwc.ru/women-survey.

PwC Russia provides industry-focused assurance, tax, legal and advisory services to various industries. Over 2,000 professionals working in PwC offices in Moscow, St Petersburg, Ekaterinburg, Kazan,Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and Vladikavkaz share their thinking, experience and solutions to develop fresh perspectives and practical advice for our clients.

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The Association of Managers is an independent national public organisation working for comprehensive cooperation in the development of Russia's business environment, bringing it up to international standards and into accordance with widely accepted ethical best-practice, integrating Russia into the global economy, and building a constructive dialogue between the public and private sectors, creating a positive view of Russian business in society and abroad.The Association of Managers' members represent the most active segment of the business community.  It involves leading figures in Russia's major companies, as well those in mid-sized and small-businesses. Members of the Association currently include over 2,500 company executives from 56 regions of Russia. The Association of Managers regularly holds conferences, round tables, seminars and other public business events, involving participants drawn from a wide circle of management professionals, government officials, specialists and public opinion leaders.

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