Corporate Gender Gap

The Corporate Gender Gap Report 2010
Release 8 March 2010
Leading companies are failing to capitalize on the talents of women in the workforce, according to the World Economic Forum’s Corporate Gender Gap Report 2010. It is the first study to cover the world’s largest employers in 20 countries and benchmark them against the gender equality policies that most companies should have in place but are in fact widely missing.
The report is based on a survey of 600 of the heads of Human Resources at the world’s largest employers. The survey contained over 25 questions and assessed companies on representation of women within their establishments and the use of gender-equality practices such as measurement and target-setting, work-life balance policies and mentorship and training. The survey also asked respondents to identify the biggest barriers to women’s leadership and their opinion on the probable effects of the economic downturn on women’s employment in their countries and industries.

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"The findings of the report are an alarm bell that the corporate world is not doing enough to achieve gender equality. While a certain set of companies in Scandinavia, the US and the UK are indeed leaders in integrating women, the idea that most corporations have become gender-balanced or women-friendly is still a myth. With this study, we are giving businesses a one-stop guide on what they need to do to close the corporate gender gap."
Saadia Zahidi, Co-author of the report and head of the Forum’s Women Leaders and Gender Parity Programme

"Women account for one-half of the potential talent base throughout the world and therefore, over time, a nation's competitiveness depends significantly on whether and how it educates and utilizes its female talent. The Global Gender Gap Index was introduced by the World Economic Forum in 2006 as a framework for capturing the magnitude and scope of gender-based disparities and tracking their progress. In the Corporate Gender Gap Report, we aim to shed light on the economic participation and opportunity gap."
Professor Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the Forum