Although we all know that women now graduate college at higher rates than men and make up nearly half of the workforce, we also know they are a long way from being equally represented on the way to and in the C-suite. Only 22 percent of board directors for S&P 500 public companies are women, and only 7 percent serve (pdf) as CEOs at Fortune 1000 companies. And although today’s leaders talk about advancing women in business and society, the concrete actions they take to increase leadership diversity are grossly underwhelming. The 2018 Pipeline Equity for All report found a 56-point gap between the percentage of CEOs in the United States who say they prioritize gender equity (78 percent) and employees who regularly see information about it measured and shared (22 percent). Eighty-seven percent of CEOs (pdf) say they are highly focused on talent, diversity, and inclusiveness, but according to a 2018 PwC survey (pdf) of 3,627 professional women from around the world, women do not trust what their bosses are telling them about promotions and pay, nor about what helps or hurts their careers.
