Dive Brief:
- Employers that are recognized as "most admired" by their industry peers have a higher proportion of female leaders, though the numbers in those companies still fall well below gender parity, according to a new report from Weber Shandwick, the global communications and engagement firm.
- Weber Shandwick's Gender Forward Pioneer (GFP) Index, which measures the percentage of women in senior management positions at Fortune Global 500 companies, shows that only 10.9% of the senior executives from those large employers by revenue are women.
- Of those companies, not one has an equal representation of men and women on their senior management teams, and nearly four in 10 companies (37.6%) have an all-male senior leadership team.
Dive Insight:
The news from International Women's Day earlier this week continues, as this new research fortifies the idea that women (and their employers) have a long way to go concerning gender parity, especially at executive levels.
Gail Heimann, president of Weber Shandwick, says reputational advantage continues to accrue for companies with more women in senior executive positions. And while that is great news for those companies and for women, the GFP Index magnifies a harsh reality - few women are represented in the highest corporate ranks.
Leslie Gaines-Ross, chief reputation strategist at Weber Shandwick, says her firm strongly believes that gender equality is rapidly becoming a new driver of company reputation.
"Let's get real," she says. "The media continues to be highly influential and journalists pay rapt attention to this hot-button gender topic, so corporate leaders are well advised to respect the reputational return on investment and competitive advantage that comes with gender balance at the top."
