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The Reykjavík Index for Leadership 2022/2023 Southeast Asia Results

Sandra Lim

President (Southeast Asia)

Sections

Background of the Reykjavík Index for Leadership
Where does Southeast Asia stand globally?
Differences in perceptions of leadership across genders
Differences in perceptions of leadership across generations
To find out more

Background of the Reykjavík Index for Leadership

Launched in 2018 by Verian and Women Political Leaders, the Reykjavík Index for Leadership measures how society views men and women in terms of their suitability for leadership. A score of 100 indicates complete agreement that men and women are equally suited for leadership across the economy, and any score of less than 100 is an indication of prejudice in society.

The 2022–2023 report presents findings drawn from the attitudes of over 14,000 respondents between the ages of 18-65 across 14 countries via an online survey. The Index has been constructed based on research exploring the question: “For each of the following sectors or industries, do you think men or women are better suited to leadership positions?” This question allows responses of ‘men’, ‘women’ or ‘both equally’ for 23 different sectors. Aligned with the goal, a response of ‘both equally’ scores a point while a response of ‘men’ or of ‘women’ scores zero points.

Where does Southeast Asia stand globally?

The 2022–2023 research extended to some Southeast Asian countries, including Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand, which have scored 44, 66 and 69 respectively (average score of 60). This is lower in comparison to the average score of 72 amongst G7 countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States). Iceland is far ahead of most other countries on the index with a score of 91.

Breaking down perceptions of leadership by industry, for several industries like Education, Economics and Political Science, and Natural Sciences, the majority of Southeast Asian respondents (especially in Singapore and Thailand) indicated that both genders are equally suited to lead. However, gender stereotypes persist with regards to certain industries, where women are perceived to be more suited for leadership in industries traditionally deemed more ‘feminine’, such as Childcare, and Fashion and Beauty. Similarly, men are perceived to be more suited for leadership in industries typically deemed more ‘masculine’, such as Defence and Police.

Views on women’s suitability for top leadership are also prejudiced, with an average of only 31% who are ‘very comfortable’ with a woman as Head of Government (28%), Minister (33%), as well as CEO of a major (33%) or small and medium company (31%).

Taking a step back, when asked about how important gender equality even is for their society, the three Southeast Asian countries present a varied picture. On the one hand, Thai respondents rated an average of 9.0 (on a scale of 0 to 10; 10 being most important), the highest amongst the countries on the Index. Indonesian respondents rated the importance of gender equality an average of 8.2. On the other hand, Singaporean respondents rated an average of 7.4, which is one of the lowest amongst the countries on the Index.

Differences in perceptions of leadership across genders

Across all markets, including the three Southeast Asian countries, even though women hold gender prejudices regarding leadership, men hold greater prejudices. When asked about the suitability of each gender to take on leadership roles in different sectors, male respondents are less likely to indicate that both genders are equally suited than female respondents. There is a greater disparity in perceptions between the genders in the Southeast Asian countries; with the average difference between men and women being 8 points, compared to 5 points across G7 countries on the Index.

Differences in perceptions of leadership across generations

Across the globe, we are seeing worrying trends of younger populations having more prejudiced views towards gender equality in leadership. This is also seen in Indonesia, with 18–34-year-olds having a lower equality score than the older generations. That said, Singapore and Thailand remain amongst the few countries on the Index that see youths holding more progressive views.