businesswomen

The next generation of women in families are advancing gender equality while leading their businesses to even greater success through innovation and collaboration.

Yet they still face challenges. Women are underrepresented at the leadership level of global business and family firms are unfortunately no exception.

Senior management roles held by women worldwide increased by a mere 1% in the decade to 2017, according to the newly launched Global Institute for Women’s Leadership at King’s College London. 

Just one sixth of women on Forbes’ annual billionaires list are self made compared to the two thirds of individuals who are self made across the entire list – which this year totals 1,810 individuals with a combined net worth of $6.48 trillion.

Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Inditex co-founder Amancio Ortega, and investor Warren Buffett make up the top three with net worths of $75 billion, $67 billion, and $60.8 billion respectively.

A third-gen of South Korean conglomerate LG Group appears to have cracked the glass ceiling at her family’s business, becoming the first female family member appointed to top management.

Koo Ji-eun, who is also a next gen of the Samsung empire through her mother’s side, was appointed vice president of LG Group's catering subsidiary Ourhome this month, 11 years after she joined the company.

Koo is the daughter of Ourhome chairman Koo Cha-hak, and her uncles are LG Group chairman Koo Bon-moo and vice-chairman Koo Bon-joon.

Sixty per cent of successful entrepreneurs come from a family that has a history of business ownership, according to a new report released by BNP Paribas Wealth Management, and the effect is especially strong in emerging markets.

The trend is most prevalent in Taiwan, Spain, Poland, the Gulf countries, and Turkey, where more than 75% have a family legacy of entrepreneurialism.

The trend is shifting in younger generations, however, and entrepreneurs in developed economies are also less likely to come from family business backgrounds.