Deloitte Global has released the eighth edition of its "Women in the Boardroom: A Global Perspective" report, which sheds light on the incremental progress towards gender parity in corporate boardrooms globally while underscoring the need for accelerated efforts to achieve meaningful representation.
The report shows that women occupy 23.3 percent of board seats worldwide, marking a 3.6 percentage point increase since the previous 2022 edition. Despite this progress, at the current pace, gender parity in boardrooms is not anticipated until 2038. The report also highlighted a starker disparity in leadership roles, with only 8.4 percent of board chairs and 6 percent of CEOs being women. These figures underlined the challenges ahead, projecting that at the current trajectory, parity for board chairs and CEOs may not be achieved until 2073 and 2111, respectively.
Deloitte's study encompassed over 18,000 companies across 50 countries, offering insights into the representation of women in boardrooms and examining the political, social, and legislative trends influencing these numbers.
“The business case for diversity is clear: companies with more diverse boards have shown that they tend to perform better financially. Despite that, it is clear that a tangible increase in momentum is needed to reach gender parity in the boardroom. With women currently still underrepresented on company boards globally, that step change in momentum will require organizations and investors to do more to realize the benefits that diverse boards can bring,” said Anna Marks, Deloitte Global Chair.
The report also demonstrated the impact of government action in advancing gender parity at the board level. Countries with quota legislation, including Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Norway, and Italy, have the highest percentages of women serving on boards. Beyond quotas, government initiatives like targets and disclosures have driven progress, with the UK and Australia seeing women holding over a third of board seats.
In Europe, more women are chairing board committees, with countries like Italy and France showing women holding most of these seats or committee chair roles. However, the disparity becomes evident in leadership roles, with a global percentage of women chairing boards and serving as CEOs significantly lower than their board representation.
The financial services industry (FSI) stood out for its gender diversity, leading in nearly double the number of markets compared to the next highest industry. The report indicated that this could be attributed to a virtuous cycle where increased numbers of women in FSI C-suites over the past decade have contributed to greater boardroom gender diversity within the industry.
Marks emphasized the importance of continued focus on gender parity by business leaders across markets, “Today, board agendas are more packed than ever before—and the challenges and emerging areas boards need to keep abreast of are only increasing. As organizations aim to build more equitable and balanced boardrooms and C-suites, with real diversity of thought, directors need to remain focused on gender parity to advance progress.” She advocated for collaboration, sharing challenges and successes, and fostering the courage to address difficult questions to help accelerate progress toward gender parity in the world's boardrooms and C-suites.
The full report can be accessed through Deloitte’s website for further details.