Management Summary

• Women comprise about one-fifth of top management positions
  There has hardly been any change in women’s representation at the various management levels.
• Advance member companies are ahead of the game
  The Glass Ceiling index has slightly improved compared to last year. With an index of 2.0, Advance members show a pronounced head start vs. non-members with 2.7. The higher the index, the bigger the overrepresentation of men in management positions.
• Men remain heavily overrepresented in positions with influence and power
  Almost three-quarters of all power positions – measured by the indicator “personnel responsibility” – are in the hands of men. Men get promoted and hired to power positions at between twice and three times the rate of women.
• The power gap culminates in an incredible 54% bonus gap
  Starting at a 7% difference in gross salary between women and men in non-management, the difference increases to 18% in middle and top management. Looking at bonuses as a condensed expression of perceived employee value, range of power, and influence reveals a stunning average bonus gap of 54%.
• Women aspire for power but get less support
  Approximately 90% of 1,200 surveyed women desire career advancement across all age groups. 70% indicated they do not receive the necessary support, while men get encouraged to take leadership positions over three times more than women.
• Retaining and developing is the new recruiting
  Especially in times of skills shortage, talents need to be consciously retained and developed. Companies cannot afford losing so many potential female leaders when moving up the hierarchy ladder, as we currently do. Especially talented women in lower and middle management today need to be retained as they are the pipeline for tomorrow’s top management.
• Equalizing succession planning for power positions is key to closing the power gap
  Consciously giving women access to enablers of power needs to increase and start early to create more balance in power positions. Systematic career sponsorship programs can be game-changing.
• How to reshape power dynamics to empower all
  In this year’s GIR, we show how companies can harness power-sharing to empower the promising diverse talents in their talent pipelines. Most companies have the necessary tools – we show you how to use them.