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Driving Positive Change in Organizational Diversity: Introducing The BoardEx Diversity Network
View the Diversity of a Company’s Board and Leadership Team
Published by: Robyn Goldberg
Published on:

BoardEx Global Gender Balance Report 2021

Published by: Robyn Goldberg
Published on:
This year, we are releasing our latest Global Gender Diversity analysis ahead of the full report which will be published this Spring, shedding the latest insights into an area of ESG that remains stubbornly persistent.

BoardEx, the premier provider of global leadership intelligence, released a new study: Global Gender Balance Report 2021.  In its second edition, the report examines the progress that was made in advancing gender equity on the boards of major corporations across 26 global indices. The report also uncovers that these gender equity advancements have not been uniform around the world, with some countries taking a notable lead in these efforts.

The BoardEx Global Gender Balance Report finds gender equity advancements have not been uniform around the world, with some countries taking a notable lead in these efforts.

There is evidence that having more women in board-level positions improves non-board gender balance.

This comparative study, which began in 2014, evaluates the progress of increasing female participation at the board, executive director and non-executive director levels.  The report includes an analysis of more than 16,000 directors from more than 1,400 different organizations.

BoardEx’s Global Gender Balance Report 2021 reveals:

  • The US made significant progress in gender balance at the board level since the study first began in 2014 with a gain of 10 percentage points. The US finds itself it 16th place in this year’s report with 29% female participation.
  • The UK gained 2.6 percentage points since last year to close 2020 with 36.3% female participation and moved to sixth place in the global rankings.
  • France takes the top spot with 44% of board positions being held by women.
  • Japan has more than tripled its female board representation from 4% to 14% in the 6 years since this study began.
  • Ireland has made the largest percentage-point gain since 2014 and the percentage of women on ISEQ-20 boards sits at 31%.
  • Only 4.4% of the organizations from the study have more than 50% female participation on the board.
  • There remains a sharp contrast between the rates of female participation for executive and non-executive directors.
  • There is evidence that having more women in board-level positions improves non-board gender balance.

For the complete findings included in the Global Gender Balance Report 2021, download the full report here. 

About BoardEx

BoardEx is a leading provider of executive intelligence and relationship mapping solutions. Organizations trust BoardEx to identify, qualify and map connection paths to 2 million organizations and the 1.5 million people who lead them.

BoardEx is a part of Euromoney People Intelligence, a division of Euromoney PLC which provides organizations with unique data intelligence that connects them with the individuals who will have the greatest impact on their goals.  Euromoney People Intelligence is comprised of four unique brands: BoardEx, WealthEngine, Wealth-X and RelSci.  We empower our clients to build greater relationships, obtain and manage their best talent and reduce commercial risk.