Deloitte Global’s Women in the Boardroom report reveals slow gender progress on boards. However, the pace of change is nevertheless accelerating. A global average of 19.7% of board seats are held by women, an increase of 2.8 percentage points since our last report, published in 2019. If this rate continues, we can expect to reach something near parity around 2045. In our last report, this milestone was forecast for 2052, which means that the timeframe has now been reduced by nearly a decade.
The share of women among CEOs is even lower than among board members. Currently, only 6.7% of board chairs and only 5% of CEOs are women (compared to 5.3% and 4.4% respectively in 2019). Companies with women CEOs have significantly more balanced boards than those led by men—33.5% women vs. 19.4% respectively.
“Compared to many other countries, Russia boasts a fairly high level of female employment, including among women with children: almost 80% of women aged 16 to 55 are employed. In some industries, such as social services and hospitality, women represent 60% of the labor force. There are no regulations or quotas regarding gender diversity in Russia.
Gradually, however, this issue is appearing on the agenda thanks to events and publications. These emphasize the fact that gender diversity is critical to reduce risks and increase companies’ efficiency and sustainability. Over the past few years, progress toward gender equality on boards and in CEO positions in Russia has been limited, and the share of women in the boardroom is still below 10%.
We expect this share to grow in coming years, especially when it comes to the share of women on management boards and in C-suite positions,” commented Ekaterina Trofimova, Deloitte CIS Financial Services Industry Leader.
Sourced from Deloitte