Women chief executives at NSE-listed firms hit six in a month

Two women have been appointed to chief executive positions within a month in companies listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), pushing their number to six out of a total of 62.

The increase, however, still brings the total percentage of women at the top to only 9.7 per cent.

On Tuesday, the NSE-listed agricultural firm, Limuru Tea #ticker:LIMT, announced the appointment of Ms Gerridina Johanna Maria Ten Den as CEO following the resignation of Mr Nicholaos Yiannakis.

Earlier this month, battery distributor Eveready East Africa #ticker:EABL appointed 39-year-old Margaret Odhiambo to be their first female CEO after the retirement of Mr Jackson Mutua.

The other women at the helm of NSE-listed firms are Nasim Devji of Diamond Trust Bank #ticker:DTK (appointed in 2001), Rebecca Miano of KenGen #ticker:KEGN (2017), Beverly Spencer-Obatoyinbo of BAT Kenya #ticker:BAT (2017) and Marion Gathoga-Mwangi of BOC Kenya #ticker:BOC (2018).

The BOC — an industrial gas manufacturer — board has often picked women to steer the firm, with Ms Mwangi preceded by Ms Millicent Onyonyi who served for two years and Ms Maria Msiska who was at the helm for five-and-a-half years.

The gender imbalance is also reflected in the number of women chairing boards of listed company, which now stands at four.

Following the resignation of Dr Susan Mboya-Kidero as the board chair of Liberty Holdings Ltd #ticker:CFCI in October, only Uchumi #ticker:UCHM, Standard Chartered Bank Kenya #ticker:SCBK, Eveready and Unga Limited #ticker:UNGA remain with women-led boards.