For 20 years, Grant Thornton has been conducting research that monitors and measures the proportion of women in management positions in companies around the world. The Women in Business project investigated what helps and what hinders women in high positions that bring with them many challenges. Global companies weathered the 2007-2008 financial crisis. year, have weathered the pandemic and are currently struggling with the impact of geopolitical tensions and conflicts.

The global economy continues to change and organizations are under more pressure than ever to adapt. In the face of such changes, it is crucial that we remain focused: the challenge of recruiting women into senior management is as important as ever. Many companies have responded to this imperative and improvements have been made. We must ensure that this growth continues and accelerates.

Progress in equality is still slow

When Grant Thornton first began its research, only 19.4% of senior management positions were held by women. Today, that figure is 33.5%. While this is progress, and there has been some acceleration since the pandemic, it is disappointingly slow. At this current rate of change, the mid-market will not reach equality of women in senior management positions until 2053.

Our data from this year's survey show that progress so far is fragile. We have seen a dramatic decline in the percentage of female CEOs, indicating a shift away from women holding positions of real power within the organization. This sounds like a warning to all of us that it is not enough to just bring women to senior management roles - we also need to act decisively to keep them there. We have to focus or we could go backwards.

Three ways to equality

Our research enables us to measure progress and also enables us to understand what needs to change to accelerate it – to identify business opportunities that can drive change and provide actionable actions that companies can take. In this year's report, we set three clear paths to equality:

• A high-ranking representative of the company should take responsibility, but must work together with the female population in higher positions. This pairing has a clear positive effect on the percentage of senior management positions held by women.
• Companies must have specific diversity, equality and inclusion goals and must regularly measure the process.
• Our research reveals a return to office work, but offices that offer more flexibility have a higher percentage of senior management roles held by women.

Companies are key drivers of the global economy, and they are distinguished by their agility and ability to make significant changes in a short period of time. If these pathways to equality are adopted in significant numbers, based on our experience, we strongly believe that it is possible for companies to achieve 50% women in senior management positions in the next five years.

The paths are there - now it's up to companies to follow them. You can download our Women in business survey below, and for more information or help in business, please contact our local experts.