As part of our global support of the FORTUNE Most Powerful Women franchise, RBC is proud to partner with FORTUNE Knowledge Group on a study addressing gender parity in senior corporate leadership positions.
It is broadly acknowledged that diversity improves financial performance and a majority of organizations have a formal gender diversity initiative in place, the data shows that the number of women in senior leadership positions is still significantly low, with only 4.2% of women holding CEO positions in America’s 500 biggest companies. A study by Grant Thornton reveals that globally, women hold an average of just 21% of senior management roles and only 9% of CEO jobs.
What Did We Discover?
Research for this study included a survey to 1,000 senior leaders globally, qualitative interviews with senior female executives and a ranking of all FORTUNE 500 companies based on their level of gender diversity in leadership. Based on these findings, the report outlines six suggested strategies to improve gender diversity in your organization.
The steps toward gender diversity suggested in this report are a fundamental start, but it is important for firms to strive to go beyond them. Looking ahead and staying focused on new ideas and progressive ways to close the gender gap are vital to speeding up gender diversity in senior leadership positions.