05 Mar From Awareness to Action: How CEOs Can Advance Gender Equity
International Women’s Day presents an opportunity for CEOs to engage in the gender gap conversation and reflect on their practices as an employer. Our latest survey[1] revealed that nearly four out of five Americans (78%) want CEOs to voice their concerns on social issues like gender inequality. Despite ongoing efforts, the gender gap remains one of the most pressing social issues globally: The World Economic Forum’s most recent Global Gender Gap Report[2] suggests a timeline of 131 years for women to achieve gender parity with men.
The workplace comes with specific gender equality challenges that are important particularly because of how they are intertwined with other aspects of gender inequality, including pay, parenting duties, and home life. Our findings underscore the importance of workplace equality to Americans: they believe treating employees fairly is one of the most crucial parts of a company’s reputation (36%). This sentiment is even more pronounced among women (41%, compared to 30% among men).
A company’s reputation suffers significantly when unfair practices related to employees and human rights occur, with two out of five Americans saying it would be the most damaging to a company’s reputation, more than exploiting customers for profit (35%).
Leadership from the top is essential in addressing gender inequality, and stances on gender equity need to be demonstrated through fair treatment and equitable practices.
With this in mind, we urge CEOs across industries to lead by example, not only by voicing their support for gender equity but also by taking decisive action within their organizations to close the gender gap.
Possible actions include:
- Lead by visibly promoting high potential women.
- Find out why/where female talent is being lost.
- Support part-time and flexible work, valued particularly by women. [3]
[1] Reputation Leaders, March 2024 Rep Pulse Report
[2] https://www.weforum.org/publications/global-gender-gap-report-2023/
[3] https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5c94a017e5274a48ead27abb/Women-Progression-Workplace-Action-Note.pdf