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Women in business

Women in business: beyond policy to progress

Stacey Davies Stacey Davies

The survey results from New Zealand businesses in Grant Thornton International’s 2018 Women in Business research are dire. The female proportion of senior management teams has hit an all time low of 18% since the report began in 2004 (31%), compared to 20% in 2017. What is more discouraging is the marked increase in the number of businesses with no women in senior management roles at 56%, compared to 37% last year.

Last year’s report revealed a sense of complacency, that the issue has plateaued and the diversity challenge has been dealt with. Once upon a time, our global standing was among the top 10 countries surveyed – we are now ranked 33 out of 35 countries; clearly the challenge hasn’t been dealt with in New Zealand.

There is compelling evidence of the link between gender diversity in leadership and commercial success. The current volatility in the global economy and ongoing technological innovation and disruption makes the issue more important than ever.

Published to coincide with International Women’s Day 2018, which calls on all to #PressforProgress, this year’s report, Women in Business: beyond policy to progress, demonstrates that introducing policies alone is not enough to drive real progress. A conscious effort to create a wider culture of inclusion championed from the top is needed to instigate change.

Read the full press release here, and download the report.