Women Are Faster!

PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi, Kraft CEO Irene Rosenfeld, ADM CEO Pat Woertz, Xerox CEO Anne Mulcahy... Since these executives, who are amongst the most power women in the world, took up their posts they have grown their companies faster than their rivals. In Turkey, Meral Egemen, Ayşe Özger, Esin Mete, Canan Ediboğlu, Piraye Antika and Hatice Çim Güzelaydınlı have the same characteristics and their performances have differentiated them from their rivals.

Indra Nooyi is the president and CEO of PepsiCo, which is one of the largest drinks companies in the world... Nooyi began work at PepsiCo in 1994 and was appointed to the number two position in the company in 2001 as head of finance. In five years she took the group’s turnover from US$9 billion to US$ 33 billion. The value of Pepsi’s shares rose by 70 percent over the same period. Nooyo was appointed CEO in October 2007 and in 2007 the group recorded growth of 22 percent on the international market. As of 2008, PepsiCo’s turnover had risen from US$39.4 billion to US$44.3 billion. It is not just Nooyi, many female executives – such as Kraft CEO Irene Rosenfeld, Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) CEO Pat Woertz and Xerox CEO Ann Mulcahy – have caught the eye both with the speed of growth of their companies and with the pressure they have put on their rivals.

They Have Exceeded The Rate In The Sector
There are many female executives in Turkey who have proved that women are faster. We analysed the performance of female CEOs in Turkey based on data from Capital 500, the Turkish Union of Banks (TBB), and the Personal Pension System. We calculated the growth performance of each female CEO throughout the time they were in their posts. We compared this figure with the growth rates of their rivals. Our study showed that, since they were appointed, Eczacıbaşı Pharmaceuticals General Manager Ayşe Özger, Toros Fertilizer General Manager Esin Mete, AvivaSA General Manager Meral Egemen and Shell Turkish General Manager Canan Ediboülu have recorded growth above the sectoral average.

The Fastest In Finance
Meral Egemen is the only female executive in the personal pensions sector. She has been Avivasa General Manager since 2002. In 2002-2008, her rivals grew by an average of 108.9 percent, while Egemen’s company recorded growth of 134.5 percent, well above the average rate of growth in the sector. Another powerful female executive in the financial sector is HSBC General Manager Piraye Antika, who increased the bank’s assets by an annual average of 32.9 percent in 2001-2007. The average annual growth rate among her rivals over the percent same period was 22.1.

Opened Up A Gap On Their Rivals
Ayse Ozger became Eczacibasi Pharmaceuticals General Manager in 2003 and grew the company by an annual average of 30.4 percent in 2003-2007. Her rival companies only grew by an annual average of 10.4 percent over the same period. Shell Turkey General Manager Canan Ediboglu recorded growth for the company of an annual average of 25.4 percent between 2003 and 2007. The average annual growth rate of Ediboglu’s rivals was only 8.7 percent.

They Are Passionate About Their Work
So how is it that women perform more successfully than their mail rivals? According to the experts who have been looking for an answer to this question, the obstacles that they face in business life, as symbolized by the “glass ceiling”, make women stronger and more resilient. Experts say that women, who are numerically less than men, struggle more. They say that it is the passion in their attitude towards their work which makes them successful. Professor Andre Mayo, an expert on human resources and management, says: “It is so difficult to break through the glass ceiling that those who are able to do so are able to reach the highest levels and are relatively better equipped than their male colleagues who do not experience such difficulties.”

They Are Successful But Their Earnings Are Low
However much women perform better than their male rivals in terms of their performance, and most of the time make things difficult for them, they are still faced with various problems in the world of business as a result of their gender. Studies show that, from the perspective of women, the situation is not fair. A 2008 study of CEOs salaries in the USA found that women earned an average of US$1.7 million a year including bonuses and compensation, which was equivalent to 85 percent of men’s earnings.

The Demand For Female Executives Is Increasing
Women’s ability to come to the fore as a result of their success has increased the demand for female executives in the latest crisis. Indeed, in Germany, the assertion that “the global crisis was the product of ambitious male executives” has generated considerable debate. Monika Schulz-Strelow, who is one of the leading economic experts in the country, declared: “The crisis wouldn’t have happened if women had been running the banks.” In Iceland, which almost went bankrupt as a result of the crisis, the male CEOs heading two collapsed state banks were dismissed and replaced by two female executives. Female executives were also appointed to the management of other banks in the country. It looks as if the rise of women in the world of business is unstoppable. Forecasts suggest that, by 2020, one in five of the executives holding the position of vice president or higher will be a woman.

Nilüfer Gözütok
ngozutok@capital.com.tr