Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 02/Oct 07:20

Amcham TT: Women leaders good for business

ONLY four per cent of venture-backed companies worldwide ever deliver the expected returns to investors, yet women-led firms consistently outperform men in revenue and return on investment (ROI) – even though they receive just two per cent of global venture capital funding. Gillian Muessig, managing director of Mastersfund, argued the contradiction was not simply unjust – it is bad business. "The women will generate 2.5 times the gross revenue that a guy will generate for the same investment dollar," Muessig told participants at Amcham TT’s ESG Conference at Hyatt Regency, Port of Spain, on September 16. "When they exit, the women at the helm return an average of 35 per cent higher ROI, compared to the 33 per cent worldwide average. "If there’s no woman at the helm, get it out of my portfolio." Her evidence stands in sharp contrast to the rollback of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies under Donald Trump’s administration, where DEI initiatives have been dismissed as posturing and political correctness. Muessig’s message was unambiguous: diversity is not ideology, it is profitability. She also warned that ignoring inequality has consequences far beyond corporate balance sheets. With TT’s Gini coefficient (a statistical measure of income inequality) at 46.7 and the homicide rate at 39.4 per 100,000, she drew a direct line between concentrated wealth, violence and business risk. "The imbalance of capital wealth is the directly responsible contributor to the record high homicide rate… gangs are already strong-arming the police and threatening governmental stability," she said. Muessig highlighted the inefficiencies of the global venture equity model. "Eighty per cent of every venture-backed company dies within five years and more thereafter," she said. Only 3.89 per cent have a "happy" exit, defined as a three-times return or better to investors across a ten-year process. She stressed that the numbers show more risk than reward. "Fifty-one per cent of all venture equity funds return nothing to investors. You hand them a million dollars, they hand you nothing back," she said, citing data from the Kauffman Foundation and Boston Consulting Group. By chasing the near statistical impossibility of "unicorns," she argued, investors are overlooking viable small- and mid-cap companies that could employ communities and strengthen social stability. Muessig made a linkage between wealth concentration and social instability. She said TT’s high inequality, measured by its Gini coefficient, parallels patterns seen in the US. "By 40 (points) you want to really take a look, and we’re looking at 46.7. Oh dear," she remarked. The cost, she added, is visible in the nation’s security crisis. "The imbalance of capital wealth is the directly responsible contributor to the record high homicide rate… A 2024 census monitor report confirmed that the violence in Port of Spain and TT at large is not random. "It is a visceral symptom of the lack of hope for improvement in the qualities of life." She cautioned that gangs are filling the vacuum left by weak social investment. Muessig suggested companies must see social investment not as philanthropy but as risk management. "Good corporate governance, good corporate culture is not a nice-to-have. This is a survival tactic. Your company must literally become the alternate community, the gang they do wish to join." If Muessig exposed systemic capital-market bias, Joanne Salazar, corporate governance specialist and board director, showed how TT has fared on diversity in leadership. She presented data collected from publicly listed companies over the last seven years. Female directors rose from 25.9 per cent in 2018 to 30.1 per cent in 2024, holding steady above the 30 per cent "critical mass" threshold despite some fluctuation in interim years. Salazar explained why that threshold matters. [caption id="attachment_1181863" align="alignnone" width="963"] Joanne Salazar -[/caption] "Once you hit the 30 per cent threshold, you move beyond tokenism. You move beyond saying, ‘let’s have one woman on the board’ when you have 15 directors." By 2024, 58 per cent of TT companies had reached or exceeded that threshold – above the global figure of 46.2 per cent. Comparisons with global data highlight TT’s relative progress. Deloitte’s 2023 Global Report found 23.3 per cent of directorships worldwide held by women, with 8.4 per cent women chairs and only six per cent women CEOs. "In TT, we have 30.1 per cent women on boards, 15.4 per cent of our chairs are women, and 20 per cent of our CEOs are women," Salazar said. But she stressed that most of the progress has been in non-executive roles. "Ninety-five per cent of the improvement has been in the increase in non-executive directors. The increase in executive directors, such as women CEOs, has lagged behind significantly." She identified four barriers stalling further progress: too few women in revenue-critical roles, low board refreshment rates, narrow recruitment practices favouring "prior CEO and finance" experience over broader skills, and limited disclosure requirements. Her recommendations reflected global best practice: clear public targets, standardised disclosure templates, bans on single-gender boards with transition periods, and deliberate pipeline-building in finance, tech and revenue roles. During a panel discussion, TT Stock Exchange CEO Eva Mitchell said change is increasingly driven by the market itself. "I’m really proud that we have at least 67 per cent of our listed companies reporting ESG in some way, form or fashion,”"she said. "And of that, 38 per cent meet that 30 per cent board diversity target." [caption id="attachment_1181861" align="alignnone" width="763"] Eva Mitchell -[/caption] Mitchell noted the role of private-sector leadership. "The market is driving the change. It’s not the regulation that’s driving the change," she said. She recalled that earlier this year, TTSE joined the UN Sustainability Stock Exchange Initiative, giving it access to frameworks for local standards. "We see sustainability as a strategic imperative. We see climate financing very, very important. It’s an eight trillion-dollar market." She also pointed to promising growth in women’s financial participation. "Over the last five years, female investor participation increased 74 per cent, which means that females are now taking more control over their wealth management," she said. Yet women still account for only 30 per cent of retail trades. Mitchell found that mentorship and sponsorship remain key. The ‘S’ in ESG Opening the conference Amcham TT president Anna Henderson reminded participants that the social pillar is often neglected in ESG debates but is central to long-term sustainability. "At its core, the ‘S’ in ESG is about people – how we treat our employees, how we engage with our communities, and how our actions either build equity or entrench inequality," she said. She cautioned that discrimination manifests in tangible costs. [caption id="attachment_1181860" align="alignnone" width="730"] Anna Henderson -[/caption] "When discrimination festers, it manifests in real and painful ways: rising crime and violence, corruption, bullying in schools, gender-based violence, deepening inequality, and even a lack of trust needed to confront issues like climate change." Henderson urged leadership to embrace equity as a strategic asset. "True diversity is not just about representation – it’s about equity in opportunity and excellence in execution. "When workplaces lead with inclusion, employees bring their full selves to work. They are more innovative, more engaged, and more loyal." She highlighted examples of local corporate initiatives, such as bpTT’s education programmes, Ansa McAl’s mentorship and disaster relief, and bmobile’s efforts to bridge the digital divide. "These are the kinds of actions that bring the ‘S’ in ESG to life," she said. Across presentations, the data and perspectives converged on a common conclusion: diversity and inclusion are not only ethical imperatives but business necessities. Muessig’s figures showed that women-led firms deliver stronger ROI yet are routinely denied capital. Salazar’s statistics revealed TT outperforming global averages in board membership but lagging in female executive leadership. Mitchell demonstrated that ESG reporting and diversity are increasingly market-driven. Henderson argued that ignoring inequality undermines both society and corporate performance.   The post Amcham TT: Women leaders good for business appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.