Over 25 years of missed opportunities

Our latest Women in Business report reveals the pace towards parity in mid-market firms isn’t moving fast enough. A young woman starting her career today will be working for more than a quarter of a century before she can expect to work at a mid-market firm with gender parity in top senior roles.

Our research explores how gender balanced teams can bring better business performance – and with small and mid-market firms making up the largest part of the global economy, now is the time to keep up the pressure.

Image
Women in leadership

Key insights - Globally

Globally, although some economies are close to reaching parity in senior leadership positions, the rate of change is concerningly slow – advancing at a rate that would raise concerns if discussing the rate of economic growth. And yet both scenarios have similar, far-reaching consequences for the global economy.

The regional picture over time

Percentage of senior leadership roles held by women, shown by region and country over the last 21 years

Source: Grant Thornton International Business Report (IBR) research into the views and expectations of senior leaders within the mid-market for 21 years
  % women in senior management
Country Name Country Code X Coordinate Y Coordinate 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2009 2007 2004
Global GL 92.5 118 34.0% 33.5% 32.4% 31.9% 31.2% 28.7% 28.8% 24.1% 24.5% 23.5% 22.3% 24.0% 24.2% 20.9% 20.2% 23.9% 24.1% 19.4%
Argentina AR 27 11 34.9% 30.8% 29.4% 30.5% 30.8% 23.6% 19.8% 22.9% 15.0% 17.6% 15.7% 25.0% 18.1% 19.5% 18.3% 17.4%    
Australia AU 92 15 36.5% 39.6% 39.5% 32.0% 32.4% 28.4% 41.9% 15.1% 23.3% 22.9% 22.0% 22.0% 22.5% 24.2% 27.1% 23.0% 21.9% 22.1%
Brazil BR 28.5 24.6 36.7% 37.1% 38.6% 37.8% 39.0% 34.4% 25.4% 29.5% 18.7% 18.5% 15.2% 22.0% 23.1% 26.5% 23.7% 28.7% 42.0%  
Canada CA 16 70 34.7% 35.5% 38.6% 30.4% 35.6% 32.0% 28.4% 25.0% 23.4% 26.4% 25.1% 23.0% 26.6% 25.1% 27.8% 27.9% 18.6% 22.4%
China CN 80 48 35.3% 32.6% 35.4% 32.3% 28.6% 31.4% 28.3% 30.9% 31.3% 29.8% 24.7% 38.0% 39.0% 25.2% 33.8% 31.4% 31.9%  
Egypt EG 57.1 37.7 30.3%                                  
France FR 46 53 37.7% 37.9% 34.8% 31.1% 32.9% 27.9% 18.5% 32.8% 30.9% 28.0% 32.6% 24.0% 25.7% 23.8% 21.2% 17.8% 21.2% 20.7%
Germany DE 52 56 30.1% 30.6% 29.9% 34.9% 38.2% 29.8% 35.5% 23.2% 18.4% 15.2% 14.0% 14.0% 31.3% 12.9% 11.4% 17.4% 11.6% 16.3%
Greece GR 54.7 46.3 30.7% 31.6% 36.8% 28.3% 32.6% 24.5% 21.8% 26.0% 19.8% 26.7% 27.0% 29.0% 29.5% 21.3% 29.9% 23.0% 20.6% 22.0%
India IN 72 36 36.5% 33.9% 36.0% 38.0% 39.1% 29.9% 28.2% 19.8% 16.9% 16.2% 15.2% 14.0% 18.9% 14.5% 9.2% 15.4% 13.9% 11.7%
Indonesia ID 91 28 36.3% 37.4% 38.7% 38.1% 37.7% 36.6% 31.9% 42.6% 45.6% 36.2% 20.2% 41.0%            
Ireland IE 41 57 36.5% 36.0% 40.3% 30.5% 32.8% 31.1% 34.9% 31.8% 26.0% 19.1% 24.4% 23.0% 21.2% 21.3% 19.4% 21.5% 21.0% 15.6%
Italy IT 49.7 46.3 34.8% 35.7% 34.0% 29.9% 29.0% 27.6% 24.3% 33.9% 26.9% 29.0% 26.1% 30.0% 23.8% 36.0% 21.6% 21.0% 14.3% 18.2%
Japan JP 90 50 18.4% 19.5% 15.9% 14.9% 14.7% 12.1% 15.4% 5.4% 7.1% 7.3% 7.8% 9.0% 7.4% 5.3% 8.1% 6.6% 6.6% 7.6%
Kenya KE 59.7 29.2 37.9%                                  
Malaysia MY 79.6 28 36.2% 39.6% 40.4% 40.1% 36.9% 33.4% 22.7% 27.9% 24.2% 26.5% 22.4% 25.0% 25.8% 28.3% 31.3% 31.3% 23.0%  
Mexico MX 14 37 38.9% 36.2% 38.0% 32.6% 35.0% 36.9% 25.5% 33.9% 23.9% 18.2% 22.5% 28.0% 22.8% 18.3% 18.5% 30.9% 20.4% 26.6%
Morocco MA 45.7 40.9 34.2%                                  
Nigeria NG 48 30 34.0% 40.6% 38.7% 37.7% 35.7% 36.2% 38.5% 30.1% 29.3% 28.8% 20.5%              
Philippines PH 87.8 35.8 43.0% 43.1% 48.8% 39.2% 48.0% 42.9% 37.5% 46.6% 39.5% 39.0%   40.0% 37.1% 38.6% 34.8% 47.5% 50.3% 39.4%
Singapore SG 84.5 28 36.3% 31.3% 49.3% 33.8% 32.8% 30.7% 33.0% 29.7% 29.8% 25.8% 22.9% 23.0% 27.4% 23.1% 29.9% 27.9% 20.8% 23.0%
South Africa ZA 53 13 47.2% 42.0% 41.0% 42.5% 43.4% 40.1% 24.2% 29.0% 28.2% 22.7% 27.3% 26.0% 28.2% 28.1% 27.4% 27.9% 29.3% 26.5%
South Korea KR 94 62 21.7% 19.6% 23.5% 21.1% 18.3% 16.5% 29.9%                      
Spain ES 42 47.2 40.4% 40.3% 37.6% 35.9% 33.5% 33.8% 29.7% 27.2% 27.2% 25.8% 25.6% 22.0% 21.4% 24.1% 22.2% 20.6% 17.3% 14.1%
Sweden SE 51 68 35.3% 34.3% 30.5% 32.0% 30.1% 26.9% 21.6% 29.5% 28.5% 25.8% 28.0% 26.0% 26.8% 22.9% 26.7% 21.5% 22.5% 17.7%
Thailand TH 79.7 37.8 43.1% 41.0% 36.6% 38.0% 34.2% 33.5% 19.4% 42.1% 31.4% 37.1% 27.2% 38.0% 35.8% 39.3% 45.0% 37.8% 39.2%  
Turkey TR 59.6 46.2 41.3% 41.0% 36.9% 40.3% 34.9% 35.9% 33.9% 27.2% 23.2% 20.5% 25.7% 25.0% 30.0% 31.0% 25.0% 28.7% 17.2% 20.4%
United Arab Emirates AE 62.9 39 26.1% 22.9% 27.1% 27.5% 26.3% 22.7% 24.2%                      
United Kingdom GB 45 62.6 36.3% 33.5% 32.5% 32.3% 33.5% 29.3% 25.6% 22.5% 18.7% 21.0% 22.2% 20.0% 19.0% 20.2% 23.1% 20.7% 19.3% 17.6%
United States US 12 55 34.0% 34.8% 30.8% 33.3% 32.3% 28.3% 31.1% 21.2% 22.7% 23.2% 21.1% 22.0% 20.3% 16.9% 15.0% 20.3% 23.3% 19.8%
Vietnam VN 84.8 44 37.4% 33.4% 33.5% 33.3% 38.9% 32.9% 36.9%                      

Drivers of diversity

To avoid another generation of missed opportunity – for women, for the midmarket, and for the whole economy – now is the time to keep up the pressure. We’ve identified three key drivers of diversity in this year’s report:

1.

Be bold, set ambitious targets on senior positions.

Businesses must have a clear target on the percentage of women in senior management positions and consider going a step further and set targets on specific positions they would like to see women occupy.

woman outdoors on her mobile
woman in business having a conversation
2.

Commit to targets supporting all career stages, not just leadership.

Our data has shown that networking and mentoring help ensure that, once women reach senior management, they stay there. Firms need to put in place targets on these key areas, support women through their career journey and better enable their professional development. If they lose talented female staff, they miss out on potential growth.

3.

Exert pressure on external partners throughout supply chains.

Firms that invest in, partner with, or are clients of mid-market businesses have significant influence in driving gender balance. By setting expectations and prioritising diversity in supplier relationships, businesses can encourage their partners to adopt inclusive strategies and targets.

women in business attending an event
Download the report
Women in business 2025

Download the report

Read about the opportunities to drive meaningful change.

Download the report [22666 kb]