Global momentum means more women move into management
ILO International Labour Organization New study shows positive link between female leadership and business performance and urges boost from current 5 per cent of women in top positions.
12 January 2015

GENEVA (ILO News) – While women are still under-represented in top management, the number of women in senior and middle management positions has increased over the last 20 years, a new study by the ILO Bureau for Employers’ Activities finds.
According to Women in Business and Management: Gaining Momentum, in 80 of the 108 countries for which ILO data is available, the proportion of women managers has increased during this period.

“Our research is showing that women’s ever increasing participation in the labour market has been the biggest engine of global growth and competitiveness,” says Deborah France-Massin, Director of the ILO Bureau for Employers’ Activities.

“Women’s ever increasing participation in the labour market has been the biggest engine of global growth and competitiveness.”
“An increasing number of studies are also demonstrating positive links between women’s participation in top decision making teams and structures and business performance. But there is a long way to go before we achieve true gender equality in the workplace, especially when it comes to top management positions.”

Only 5 per cent or less of the CEOs of the world’s largest corporations are women. The larger the company, the less likely the head will be a woman…

:: Women in Business and Management: Gaining momentum [abridged version]
ILO – Bureau for Employers’ Activities
12 January 2015 :: 44 pages :: 978-92-2-128873-2[ISBN]
This report brings together available data and ILO statistics to provide a comprehensive, up to-date and global picture of women in the business world and in management positions.