The number of women in top leadership jobs at companies worldwide has risen since 2013, but inequalities remain at lower managerial levels, the International Labour Organization said Tuesday. The share of companies with a female board chair surged from 13.1 per cent in 2013 to 30.9 per cent last year, the United Nations agency said in a report. The share with a woman chief executive rose from 23.4 per cent to 28.2 per cent in the same period. But the report found women remain under-represented in the corporate hierarchy overall, holding just 30.5 per cent of managerial positions globally -- up from 24.5 per cent in 2000. “Gender equality is a fundamental right, and the evidence is clear that it is also a powerful driver of sustainable enterprises and economic growth,” ILO Director-General Gilbert Houngbo said in a statement. The report was based on a survey of 11,957 companies in 99 countries. It found a “growing gap” between companies’ commitments on gender equality and implementation on the ground. While nearly three-quarters of firms had a gender equality and diversity policy or equivalent measure in place in 2025, the share implementing such initiatives -- such as maternity leave and equal pay programs -- fell from 37.4 per cent in 2018 to 26.5 per cent last year, it said. “At a time when enterprises are competing for skills and talent, leaving women’s potential untapped makes little business sense,” said the ILO’s Maria Paz Anzorreguy. “The evidence increasingly tells us what works. The priority now is to put it into practice and scale it.” The report recommended bolstering leadership pipelines for women, using gender metrics and voluntary targets, and improving women’s access to roles where they remain under-represented. It also called for “action to address structural barriers outside the workplace, including unequal care responsibilities, occupational segregation and persistent social norms”.
