Why do so few women make it to the top of the business world? And what can we do about it? |
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These are the key questions considered by our 2015 women in business report which looks at the barriers and enabler along the path to business leadership. Drawing on a survey of 5,404 business leaders and in-depth interviews with 20 policymakers, academics and senior decision-makers from inside and outside Gran t Thornton, we draw out 12 recommendations for society, government, businesses and women themselves on how to facilitate female advancement. |
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Headline findings
We have been tracking gender diversity in business leadership over the past decade but there has been very little change in the headline figures. Today, just 22% of senior roles are held by women, compared with 19% in 2004. Almost a third of businesses have no women in their senior leadership teams, although this has fallen by 6 percentage over the past three years.
Russia sits top of the global league table with 40% of senior roles occupied by women. It is joined in the top ten by six other economies from Eastern Europe, including Georgia (38%) and Poland (37%). Japan (8%) still sits bottom of the table as it has done every year since 2004. Germany (14%) and India (15%) sit second and third last respectively.
Business leaders highlighted a range of enablers and barriers along the path to promotion. Some of the key themes to emerge were: parenthood and family care require women to make sacrifices; women are more likely to work their way up to management support positions; women are twice as likely to cite gender bias as a barrier; and men and women network differently.
12 recommendations:
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