Cornerstone Survey Results Affirm Only 1/5 View Gender Diversity as a Corporate Priority

For the past few years, reporting on the issue of gender diversity has been guardedly optimistic. Women have been winning prominent positions in major international companies. For the first time, more than half of 4,000 corporations worldwide reported boards with 10 percent or more female members, according to an October report by Reuters.

Recently the air seems to be going out of the balloon. We celebrated Women’s Day last March with news that the increase of senior roles held by women globally1 has been only 3 percentage points since 2004. It has taken over a decade to move the needle from 19% to 22%.

WHY?

This survey suggests a one-word answer: indifference. Or, more strategically, a lack of organizational commitment. The infrastructure hasn’t changed. University graduates are still 60% women; governments and concerned groups have taken action, including introducing quotas.

But the essential commitment in the workplace seems to be missing.

CORPORATE PRIORITY

Only 21% of respondents to our survey viewed gender diversity as a corporate priority. A staggering 45% felt it was incidental to business performance.

To view the full report, visit www.cornerstone-group.com/2016/06/15/2016-global-business-survey-results