Some 37% of senior executive positions in the European retail and consumer goods sector are now occupied by women, the latest edition of LEAD Network's Gender Diversity Scorecard has found.
This represents a slight increase on the 2021 figure of 35%, and a 'significant' jump on the 25% that was recorded in 2017, the first year in which LEAD Network conducted the biannual survey.
Taking the two sectors separately, the percentage of women in senior executive roles in the retail industry stands at 35%, while in CPG/manufacturing, the percentage is 38%.
The findings of the 2023 Gender Diversity Scorecard were revealed at the annual LEAD Network conference, Doing not Trying: The Inclusive Journey, which took place in Düsseldorf last week.
'The Right Direction'
"It is encouraging to see progress in the right direction, and the dedication and collective efforts driving this change deserve recognition," commented Allyson Zimmermann, CEO of LEAD Network.
"Nevertheless, our scorecard underscores the disappointingly slow pace of progress. There is an urgent need to accelerate our efforts, both for the benefit of businesses and as a moral imperative."
The full report can be found here.
'Pursuit Of Gender Parity'
Produced in collaboration with EY, the Gender Diversity Scorecard monitors the representation of women in executive roles within the retail and consumer goods sector across Europe.
According to LEAD Network, the objective of the scorecard is to 'assist organisations in their pursuit of gender parity by offering valuable insights through benchmarking against industry peers'.
Consumer goods and retail companies across Europe were invited to take part in the scorecard between 17 April and 14 July 2023.
The importance of advancing gender equality and diversity within the sector was underlined in June of last year, when the European Union announced its first-ever quota for women on corporate boards.
