Factors to promote gender parity
To more effectively address the global gender gap, Grant Thornton is making stronger global calls for mid-market businesses to push for gender parity and understands that intentional action from businesses is needed to accelerate progress.
The Grant Thornton report identifies factors which will support this acceleration. Firstly, women now hold a great number of senior management positions. This trend is likely to lead to new diversity strategies focused on increasing diversity at the senior management level and pushing more businesses towards gender parity.
Secondly, external pressures around Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) policies demand the creation of new strategies, including a determined push towards more women in senior leadership. The establishment of global ESG standards and regulations is putting pressure on firms to form diverse leadership teams.
The most significant boost toward achieving gender parity could come from a continued commitment by businesses to provide increased flexible working. The IBR research also found that businesses which offer flexible, hybrid and home-based models have the highest levels of women in senior leadership roles. In businesses that have adopted a hybrid way of working, 34% of senior leaders are women, while in businesses that are fully flexible where staff choose how they work, it is 36%. Meanwhile, only 29% of senior management roles is held by females in businesses with predominantly office-based models.