拥有女性董事的中国企业数量大增

The number of big Hong Kong and mainland Chinese companies that have at least one woman board member has increased sharply in recent years, according to a Credit Suisse study.

瑞信(Credit Suisse)的一项研究发现，在香港与中国大陆的大型企业中，至少有一名女性董事的企业的数量近些年有所增加。

In Hong Kong for instance, women's presence in boardrooms has soared from 28.8% to 51.6% over the past six years based on a sample of 93 large-cap companies. China meanwhile, saw a rise with 50% of companies having at least one woman on the board, compared to 6.5% in 2005.

一项以93家大型企业作为样本的研究显示，过去六年来，香港企业中拥有女性董事的企业的比例从28.8%猛升至51.6%。同时，在中国大陆，至少有一名女性董事的企业的比例从2005年的6.5%升至50%。

The China results are part of broader research that looked into almost 2,400 companies globally. The report suggested that the presence of women on boards brought more points of view to the table, contributing to a better mix of leadership skills.

这项研究调查了全球近2,400家企业，关于中国的这些调查结果是其中的一个部分。该报告表明，女性的出现可使董事会具备更多视角，促成了不同领导技能更好地融合在一起。

Having women on boards also led to better financial results. Companies that have at least one woman on the board were found to outperform others in the industry by 26%, with shares climbing faster post 2010's financial crisis.

此外，吸收女性加入董事会还会提高企业的财务业绩。研究发现，至少拥有一名女性董事的企业的业绩要比业内其他企业高26%，它们的股价在2010年金融危机之后也攀升得更快。

'Long-term owners of companies should be obsessed with the talent running the business and the diversity of thinking,' said Su-Mei Thompson, Chief Executive Officer of the Women's Foundation in Hong Kong and not involved in the Credit Suisse study. The foundation is one of the non-profit groups in the city advocating for gender equality.

香港妇女基金会(Women's Foundation)行政总裁周素媚说，“企业的长期所有者应极其注重管理企业的人才以及思想的多样化。妇女基金会是香港倡导性别平等的几家非营利机构之一，周素媚并未参与瑞士信贷的研究。

'Well-balanced boards are about ideas, avoiding 'groupthink' and enhanced business performance,' Ms. Thompson added.

周素媚补充说道，“均衡的董事会涉及到理念、避免‘群体思维’以及企业业绩的提高。

The results present a more optimistic picture for women's representation on boards than previous studies. McKinsey published a report recently that looked at the number of women across boardrooms in publicly listed companies and found only 9% were occupied by women.

关于女性在董事会中的席位，这些研究结果要比以往的研究更为乐观。麦肯锡(McKinsey)最近曾发布了一份报告，该报告调查了上市公司董事会中女性董事的数量，最终发现女性只占据了9%的席位。

The difference is about methodology. Credit Suisse calculated the number of companies that had at least one female board member, while the McKinsey report tabulated all board positions at a similar group of companies and figured out what percentage of all those board members were women.

其中的差距在于研究方法的不同。瑞信计算的是至少拥有一名女性董事的企业的数量，而麦肯锡的报告则列出了一批同类企业的所有董事会席位，然后再计算女性在其中所占的比例。

The worst performer in Asia, according to Credit Suisse, is South Korea, with only 3.8% of the 105 company boards to have a woman. Six years ago, corporations in the nation didn't have a single female representative on any board. Other lagging countries include Taiwan, which recorded 9.2% out of 98 companies and Japan, which had 11.2% out of 312 companies with a female board member.

根据瑞信的研究，亚洲在这方面表现最差的是韩国，抽样的105家企业中只有3.8%拥有女性董事；六年前该国的企业连一名女性董事都没有。其他比较落后的国家包括台湾和日本，其中抽样调查的98家台湾企业中只有9.2%拥有女性董事，而日本312家抽样企业的这一比例也仅为11.2%。

The jump in female representation in Hong Kong is encouraging, but as a city that is considered a developed market, it still lags behind its Western counterparts such as the United States at 85.7%, Britain at 84.9% and Germany at 86%. The global average according to the report is at 58.8%.

香港企业中女性董事比例的提高令人鼓舞，但是作为一个被视为发达市场的城市，香港依然落后于西方的发达市场，例如美国女性董事的比例为85.7%，英国和德国分别达到84.9%和86%。该报告称，全球的平均水平为58.8%。

Though the study highlighted the benefits of having women as corporate decision makers, which included companies producing better financial results, it also mentioned some downsides. Academic studies, some based on laboratory simulations, found that even though 'diverse groups were more likely to produce a better result than the homogenous teams, their confidence in that result was lower and the working environment was perceived to be more difficult,' the report said.

这项研究虽然强调了吸收女性作为企业决策者的好处，包括为企业创造出更佳的财务业绩，它也提到了一些不利因素。报告指出，一些学术性研究（其中一些以实验室模拟为基础）发现，尽管“多样化的团队更有可能比同质化的团队创造出更好的业绩，但是他们对这种业绩的信心更弱，而且他们的工作环境也被认为更加艰难。

The barriers that are holding women back from sitting in seats located in the upper echelons include the dual role that women are still playing at work and at home, social typecasting and women's lower self confidence and ambition, the report said.

该报告还指出，阻碍女性坐上企业高位的障碍包括女性依然要在工作和家庭中扮演双重角色，此外她们还受到社会角色定型的影响，她们的自信心和事业抱负也更弱。

During a gender issues talk last week in Hong Kong, the city's former chief secretary, Anson Chan, spoke about women breaking glass ceilings while maintaining their role as a caregiver in a family. Her comments echoed a hot public discussion in the U.S. sparked by former Obama administration official Anne-Marie Slaughter.

香港前任政务司司长陈方安生近日在香港出席了一次有关性别问题的讨论，她谈到女性既要努力打破“玻璃天花板，同时还要承担照料家庭的任务。她的这番评论与奥巴马政府前任高官安妮-玛丽·斯劳特(Anne-Marie Slaughter)在美国所引发的公众热议形成了呼应。

'Can women have it all?' Ms. Chan asked. After several seconds of silence she said, 'I'm not too sure about that.'

陈方安生问道，“女性能拥有一切吗？在沉默数秒之后，她说道，“对于这一点我不是非常确定。