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Grant Thornton’s Women in Business 2025 report highlights the urgent need for action to close the gender gap in senior leadership roles. At the current pace, parity won’t be reached until 2051—too late for today’s emerging leaders. Discover how businesses can accelerate change and unlock growth through gender-balanced teams.

This report highlights the growing need for sustainable practices in mid-market companies and their essential role in the global economy. Learn about the drivers, challenges, and strategic paths that help these firms evolve towards sustainability, influencing larger corporations and setting benchmarks for smaller enterprises.

Women in Business 2023: The push for parity Grant Thornton’s International Business Report (IBR) has been casting a light on the issue of gender diversity in senior management at mid-market businesses for 19 years, exposing barriers and identifying facilitators of change. While progress on the overall number of women in senior leadership continues, this year’s research shows it is concerningly slow. On a global level, 32.4% of senior management positions in mid-market businesses are now held by women, an increase of just half a percentage point (pp) since 2022 and only 13pp since our research was first undertaken in 2004. At this rate just 34% of senior leadership positions will be held by women in 2025. Our research suggests that mid-market businesses must push for parity, and quickly. Intentional action from businesses is needed to accelerate progress.

Women in Business 2022: Opening the door to diverse talent Welcome to the 2022 report on our research into the position of women in senior management across the world, and the progress towards gender parity in leadership. Our previous report identified the window of opportunity that post-pandemic working practices could create for women to move into senior roles. In our 2022 research, we see businesses taking deliberate, necessary action to create more inclusive working practices. They are prioritizing employee engagement and opening the door to allow female talent access to senior positions in greater numbers than ever before.

Women in Business 2021: A window of opportunity Over the last 12 months, our women in business research has drilled down into the gender diversity stats of mid-market organisations around the world, looking at how the numbers are changing, and most importantly, what businesses are doing to make them change. For 17 years, Grant Thornton has been tracking the global progress of women in senior management. In the last 12 months, unprecedented events have had an unforeseen and unparalleled impact on that progress. The coronavirus pandemic has driven a fundamental shift in global working practices. It has forced millions into a remote working model. It has exposed weaknesses in supply chains; caused businesses to assess the factors essential to survival; and underlined the mid-market as the beating heart of many sectors, central to keeping economies functioning.

Women in Business 2020: Putting the Blueprint Over the last 12 months, our women in business research has drilled down into the gender diversity stats of mid-market organisations around the world, looking at how the numbers are changing, and most importantly, what businesses are doing to make them change.

In 2019, our Women in business campaign will focus on the real world and seeking solutions to leadership diversity.

Many businesses globally are missing out on opportunities because of a lack of diversity in senior leadership teams.

Globally, one in four senior roles is now held by a woman.

The European Economy remains resilient despite the risks

Crisis of confidence as global business optimism hits three-year low

The gender diversity issue has been on the business agenda for many years now, yet a third of businesses still have no women at a senior management level. Somewhere there is a disconnect.

As businesses look to 2016 and beyond, this report considers the outlook for the global economy in 2016.

New research from Grant Thornton’s International Business Report (IBR) reveals that going into 2016, EU businesses remain surprisingly resilient in their outlook despite risks posed by the migrant crisis, terrorism etc. Yet 2016 also brings fresh questions as US firms report a dent to their confidence amid concerns over export markets and the strength of the Dollar.

I recently finished an Asian tour to connect with our firms in the region and to meet some of their clients. The trip has been an eye-opening experience and a great opportunity to focus on this high-growth region.

But as more commerce moves online, retailers need to be aware of cyber-attacks – only 46% are prepared, despite the $86bn cost in attacks annually.